Rome II joint media and journalists letter to Commissioner Frattini
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
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
