Romania

[RO] CNA Recommends More Detailed Media Coverage of European Themes

IRIS 2007-1:1/29

Mariana Stoican

Journalist, Bucharest

Shortly before Romania's accession to the EU, the Consiliul Naţional al Audiovizualului (National Audiovisual Council - CNA ) wrote to Romanian broadcasters, urging them to increase their efforts to prepare the Romanian public for the changes that EU integration would produce. "The CNA believes that more information about the practical repercussions of compliance with European standards should be disseminated through news broadcasts and special programmes", states the CNA Recommendation of 7 November 2006. The Recommendation explains that "media reporting on Community regulations concerning social life and certain fields of activity should be considered as information of public interest and should therefore take its proper place within the programming strategy of radio and television broadcasters".

Romania's accession to the EU has also led to a host of new provisions in the CNA's regulatory code for audiovisual content ( Decizia CNA Nr. 187 din 3 aprilie 2006 privind Codul de reglementare a conţinutului audiovizual ), which enter into force on 1 January 2007. For example, Art. 94 of the CNA regulatory code for television broadcasters under Romanian jurisdiction will impose the following obligations as from 1 January 2007:

a) At least 50% of airtime should be devoted to European works, as defined in Art. 23 of Audiovisual Act no. 504/2002 (original works from Romania, EU member states and other European countries which have signed the European Convention on Transfrontier Television); news bulletins, sports reporting, entertainment programmes and advertising are excluded from this rule;

b) At least 10% of airtime and programming budgets should be devoted to European works by independent producers.

Art. 95 stipulates that broadcasters who are unable to achieve the percentages set out in Art. 94 lit. a after 1 January 2007 must strive to reach these targets within one year in accordance with their obligation to provide the public with educational, cultural and entertainment programmes. Art. 96 explains that Art. 94 does not apply to television broadcasters which fulfil all of the following conditions: a) their potential audience represents less than 3% of the national population; b) they do not broadcast feature films or television series, c) their programme content is of strictly local interest.

Under Art. 97, the CNA monitors and evaluates compliance with the provisions of Articles 94 and 95. From 1 January 2007, television broadcasters are obliged under Art. 98 to submit reports to the CNA three times a year concerning their compliance with the provisions on the proportion of European productions that should be broadcast.