The financing of the public radio and TV stations again in the spotlight

The Chamber of Deputies to vote on bill to eliminate around 100 non-fiscal charges proposed by the Social Democratic Party.

Roxana Vasile, 24.10.2016, 13:57

After being
approved by the Senate, a bill initiated by the Social Democratic Party on the
elimination of around 100 non-fiscal charges will be debated by the Chamber of
Deputies, Parliament’s decision-making body. On Monday, the chamber’s budget
and finance committee gave its positive opinion on the bill. The charges to be
eliminated include the so-called green stamp duty for vehicles, the fees for
issuing tax records and temporary passports, for replacing lost identity papers
or for alterations in identity papers, the fees for issuing recreational and
sport fishing permits, etc.

The Chamber of Deputies’ budget and finance
committee established, however, that the public radio and TV licence fee would
not be eliminated. The proposal to eliminate this fee sparked a lot of reaction
among politicians, civil society and representatives of international public
media institutions, all of whom say the measure would significantly affect the
autonomy and independence of the public radio and TV stations. Radio Romania’s
Management Board warned that the public radio may become vulnerable to
political control and lose its credibility in the exercise of its public
mission in the citizen’s best interest. The Romanian Television shared this
position.

The financing of the public radio and TV services from the state
budget is the worst possible solution, said the Legal Director of the European
Broadcasting Union Richard Burnley, while the Network Manager of BBC Radio 4,
Dennis Lowlan, said the BBC has been financed through a fee for more than 90
years, which has been a guarantee of the station’s independence. Vincent
Lemaire, from Radio France, agreed that public funding is a guarantee of
editorial independence:

It’s very important for us to know that the audience
is our direct sponsor. It is a relationship that entails our responsibility
before the audience for they are the ones that pay for our services. This is
what makes us truly dedicated to this cause.

Most public media services in
Europe are funded by licence fees and in countries where such fees do not
exist, the editorial independence is affected. In Romania, the Radio and TV
licence fee accounts for 67.56% of the Public Television’s revenues and for 49%
of those of the public radio. The fee stands at 0.8 euros per month for the TV
service and 0.6 euros for the radio service, which makes it the lowest in
Europe.