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On 7 March 2011 the Hungarian Parliament adopted some amendments of great significance to the new media acts (Act CIV of 2010 on the Freedom of the Press and the Fundamental Rules on media content as well as Act CLXXXV of 2010 on Media Services and Mass Media). The amendments were put forward by the government following an agreement between the European Commission and the Hungarian Government reached on 16 February 2011 (see IRIS 2011-3/24). According to the amendments the obligation to provide balanced coverage applies henceforth only to linear media services (i.e., television and radio broadcasting)...

On 17 March 2011, Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, presented the regular report to the OSCE Permanent Council, the organisation’s main decision-making body. The report consists of overviews of issues raised in the participating countries, activities of the Representative in the last reporting period and planned activities for the next reporting period. A large part of the report consists of the analysis of issues raised in 56 of the OSCE participating States. The report touches upon several issues concerning media freedom, inter alia, media pluralism, editorial...

In its resolution of 10 March 2011, the European Parliament assessed and criticized the recent changes to the Hungarian media law (see IRIS 2010-8/34, IRIS 2010-9/6, IRIS 2011-1/37, IRIS 2011-2/3, IRIS 2011-2/30 and IRIS 2011-3/24). In the light of the values of democracy and the rule of law and especially with regard to guaranteeing and promoting the freedom of expression and of information, the resolution declares that media pluralism and freedom continue to be matters of grave concern in the EU and its Member States. The resolution states that the recent criticism of the media law in Hungary...

On 25 February 2011, the Commissioner for Human Rights published an opinion on Hungary’s media legislation in light of Council of Europe standards on freedom of the media. The two main issues that are discussed in the opinion relate to encroachments on the freedom of the media and problems concerning the independence and pluralism of the media. In the second half of 2010, the Hungarian Parliament amended existing media-related provisions and issued new legislation on the freedom of the press and the fundamental rules regarding media content, as well as on media services and mass media (see IRIS...

Following an exchange of letters between the Hungarian Minister of Public Administration and Justice and Commissioner Neelie Kroes and discussions at expert level the Hungarian government and the European Commission have agreed on a set of amendments to the newly adopted Hungarian media Acts (Act CIV. of 2010 on Freedom of Expression and on the Basic rules of media content and Act CLXXXV. of 2010 on Media Services and Mass Media; see IRIS 2010-8/34, IRIS 2010-9/6, IRIS 2011-1/37, IRIS 2011-2/3 and IRIS 2011-2/30). The agreed amendments comprise four issues. Their most important elements can be...