Search results : 80

The European Commission has finished the preliminary analysis of the measures implementing the Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive into national law notified by 16 Member States: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. Subsequently, the European Commission has sent fact-finding letters to these states inquiring about these implementing measures. The Commission is thus seeking to ensure that all provisions of the AVMS Directive have been correctly transposed into...

On 24 June 2010, the European Commission issued a set of reasoned opinions to 12 member states (Austria, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, and Slovenia) requesting that they proceed with updating their national broadcasting legislation in order to bring it into compliance with the Audiovisual Media Service (AVMS) Directive. The Directive, which replaced the Television without Frontiers Directive of 1989 (as amended), was adopted in December 1997 with the intention of bringing the EU’s broadcasting rules up to speed with the digital age. The...

On 1 June 2010, the European Union Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive was transposed in its entirety into Maltese law. This was done through eight different pieces of legislation. The Broadcasting (Amendment) Act, 2010 - Act No. IV of 2010 - was enacted by Parliament and published in the Malta Government Gazette of 4 June 2010. This law entered into force on 1 June 2010 in accordance with Legal Notice 320 of 2010, the Commencement Notice of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Act. Whilst Act No. IV of 2010 transposed several of the AVMS Directive’s rules, certain other provisions of the Directive...

On 23 March 2010, the Broadcasting Authority launched a consultation on the eligibility criteria for the classification of broadcasters that fulfil general interest objectives. The Broadcasting Authority is playing a key role in the digital switch-over. Among its responsibilities the Authority has been charged with the selection process of the stations that will become General Interest Objective (GIO) Channels and will be carried on the digital multiplex platform to be operated by the public service broadcaster. The purpose of the consultation document is to consult on the eligibility criteria...

The year 2009 has been a fruitful year for legislation in the broadcasting scene in Malta. Earlier on in the year, Parliament enacted a law to empower the Maltese Broadcasting Authority to license radio and television satellite services. Currently, the House of Representatives is discussing a Bill to amend the Broadcasting Act to transpose the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS), whilst another Bill has been drawn up - though it has not yet been published - intended, inter alia, to regulate general interest objectives in Maltese Broadcasting Law. The Audiovisual Media Services Directive...