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Issues
Rome II joint media and journalists letter to Commissioner Frattini
November 2005
For the attention of Vice President Franco Frattini
In charge of Justice, Freedom and Security
European Commission
Brussels, 10 November 2005
Dear Vice President Frattini,
The undersigned European Media and Journalists organisations would like to
draw your attention to the current debate on Rome II - the draft
regulation on applicable law to non-contractual obligations.
This draft regulation has a direct impact on our daily activities of
news and information provision to Europe's citizens as Article 6 regulates
the law that applies in cross-border violation of privacy and rights
relating to the personality.
In our view, this proposal puts at risk the freedom of the press as
protected under the European Convention and the European Charter of
Fundamental Rights. We have therefore informed your services that any
intervention in this field could have a direct impact on press freedom and
on the editorial content of the various media in the European Union.
In its plenary session of July 2005, the European Parliament has
approved an amendment to Article 6 which has been broadly supported by the
European media and journalists' organisations. Based on the applicable
law of the country where the media is principally directed, this
solution adopted by MEPs provides legal certainty whilst respecting in the
same
time the rights of the victim and the freedom of the press. We have
welcomed this amendment
as an acceptable compromise.
In the same article, the European parliament rightly called on the right
or reply, preventive
measures or prohibitory actions to be governed by the law of the country
where broadcasters
and publishers have their habitual residence. This amendment was also in
line with the
Commission's initial proposal on the right of reply and received our
strong support.
In the future discussions on Rome II, in particular on Article 6, the
European Media and
Journalists' organisations would like to invite the European Commission to
give full and
further reflection and consideration of the amendment adopted by the
European Parliament on
Article 6 at the light of the concerns that we describe in this letter. We
call on the
Commission to ensure that the respect of freedom of the press and access
to information by all
EU citizens is ensured in all future discussions on Article 6 of this
draft Regulation.
We believe that these concerns have not been considered in a proper manner
in relation to the
Commission's proposal on article 6.1: the proposed article 6 based on the
law of the forum
provides the claimant with a choice among a wide variety of different laws
to be applied
against a particular media or a journalist. This therefore increases the
possibility of forum and
law shopping. This inevitably encourages a plaintiff to seek redress for
the local damages in
multiple countries and according to different laws.
Under the Commission's proposal on Article 6.1, a publisher, a broadcaster
or a journalist
will be under constant threat of being sued under the law of various
countries, although they
have at moment of publication or broadcast respected the law of their home
country.
This proposal will also be impossible to apply from a practical point of
view and it will
prevent media and journalists from publishing or broadcasting certain
information because of
the legal uncertainty that this will create.
These difficulties cannot be solved simply by the suggestion as it stands
from the German
Government in the latest meeting of the Council Committee for Civil Law
Matters, as a media
company or a journalist will under their proposals still need to
anticipate multiple foreign
laws prior to publication or broadcast, in particular when news articles
or programs deal with
several personalities, each of them residing in different countries.
We would also like to draw your attention on amendments passed in the
European Parliament
on Recital 12a new (amendment 10) and Article 26a new (amendment 54)
referring to the
establishment of "a self-obligating European Media Code and/or a European
Media Council".
We see no connection between these amendments and private international
law. Moreover,
these amendments depart from the initial goal of Rome II which is "to
improve the
foreseeability of solutions regarding the applicable law" to non
contractual obligations and
go way beyond the objectives of Rome II.
We are particularly concerned about the impact of such amendments on the
ethical and self-regulatory
rules which currently exist in the various Member States and between media
organisations. We believe that codes of ethics or codes of conduct must be
drawn up by the
professionals themselves and we see no active role for national
governments and EU
institutions to play in this area.
We trust that you will be able to take account of our concerns and we
remain at your disposal
for any complementary information you may require.
Yours sincerely,
The undersigned European media and journalists organisations:
Angela Mills Wade - European Publishers' Council (EPC)
Executive Director
Ross Biggam - Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT)
Director General
Christina Sleszynska - Association of European Radios (AER)
Manager
Nicola Frank - European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
Deputy Head of Brussels Office
Arne König - European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Chairman
Valtteri Niiranen - European Newspaper Publishers' Association (ENPA)
Director
David Mahon - European Federation of Magazine Publishers (FAEP)
Director
Anne Bergman-Tahon - Federation of European Publishers (FEP)
Director
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For any information, please contact:
EPC - Angela Mills Wade
European Publishers Council
26 Avenue Livingstone
1000 Brussels
Phone: 32 2 231 1299
Fax: 32 2 230 7658
Email:
angela.mills@wade.uk.net
ACT - Petra Wikström
Association of Commercial Television in Europe
rue Joseph II, 9-13
1000 Bruxelles
Tél : 32 2 736 0052
Fax : 32 2 735 4172
E-mail : pw@acte.be
AER - Christina Sleszynska
Association of European Radios
Avenue d'Auderghem 76
1040 Bruxelles
Tel: 00 32 2 736.91.31
Fax: 00 32 2 732.89.90
E-mail: sleszynska@aereurope.org
EBU - Nicola Frank
European Broadcasting Union
rue Wiertz 50
1050 Bruxelles
Phone: 32 2 286 9112
Fax: 32 2 286 9110
E-mail: frank@ebu.ch
EFJ - Pamela Morinière
European Federation of Journalists
Residence Palace
Rue de la loi 155
1040 Brussels
Phone : 00 32 2 235 22 16
Email : pamela.moriniere@ifj.org
ENPA - Sophie Scrive
European Newspaper Publishers' Association
Rue des Pierres 29 bte 8
1000 Bruxelles
Belgique
Phone : 32 2 551 01 90
Fax : 32 2 551 01 99
e-mail : sophie.scrive@enpa.be
FAEP - David Mahon
European Federation of Magazine Publishers
Rue d'Arlon 15
1050 Brussels
Phone: 32 2 286 80 94
Fax: 32 2 2286 80 95
Email: david.mahon@faep.org
FEP- Anne Bergman-Tahon
Federation of European Publishers
204, Avenue de Tervuren
B-1150 Bruxelles
Phone: 32 2 770.11.10
Fax: 2 2 771.20.71
Email: abergman@fep-fee.be
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