Latvia

Council of Europe: Latvia Signed and Ratified the Convention on Transfrontier Television

IRIS 1998-8:1/4

Susanne Nikoltchev

European Audiovisual Observatory

On 26 June, Latvia handed over the instrument of ratification of the Convention on Transfrontier Television, which establishes a legal framework, with minimum common rules, for the free circulation of transfrontier television programmes in Europe. From 1 October 1998 on, the Convention will apply in Latvia and require to ensure freedom of reception and retransmission of transfrontier programmes, which comply with the rules concerning advertising, sponsorship, the protection of certain individual rights, and the dissemination of European audio-visual works laid out in the Convention.

The Convention is already in force in Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom as well as in the Holy See. It has also been signed by Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden and the Ukraine ( see IRIS 1998-5:9).