Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-04-Speech-3-348"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20001004.14.3-348"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, I should like to thank both the European Parliament and its rapporteur for the important work which has been done on this issue. I remember that, when the V-chip was discussed in this House, I was among the MEPs who banged their fists on the table and demanded that parents have the opportunity to exercise supervision.
One thing is certain, I think. The problem will not be solved through technical, technological or other such measures. It is society as a whole which has to assume responsibility. We are in the process of assuming our own share of responsibility. Let others assume theirs and, believe me, I shall call for everyone to play their part in applying a solution.
The Commission shares the view expressed in the report that cooperation between Member States and the Commission is essential if minors are to be better protected over the next few years. This does not mean harmonisation. No one wants this, no one has talked about it and no one intends to implement it. The idea is to draw up minimum rules. I am the last person to attack subsidiarity. I defend it, because it is essential. Subsidiarity must serve some purpose, however, and not act as a screen. I am convinced that, when it comes to protecting young people, we are in prime position of responsibility, and I am also convinced that there are ethical considerations more important than the strictly legalistic ones.
With regard to the introduction of a self-regulation code, it should be noted, particularly in terms of the technical aspects, that, in a number of Member States, broadcasters have already introduced coding systems for television sets to enable parents to cut off the power. The Commission is also consulting the Digital Videobroadcasting Group, or DVB, about the technical aspects of systems for protecting minors, particularly digital filters. Like Parliament, the Commission also thinks that each family ought to have access to these filtering devices at affordable prices. As you know, however, no effective systems are yet to be found where television is concerned. However, filters are available to the public for use with the Internet, and this should speed up the development of similar filters for television, especially digital ones. In short, when more programmes are put on the market, parents will have the technical means of preventing their children from watching certain broadcasts.
Let us not, however, forget the ethical and legal aspects. The problem is certainly not to be solved at the touch of a button or just by pulling a plug. As has been said in this House, journalists, programme makers and broadcasters are also responsible. I should like to remind you that the Commission has adopted an action plan designed to promote safer Internet use and also to make users more aware of the problem. I think too that, even if this public awareness campaign relates to the Internet, it will also have a knock-on effect on television programmes.
It is true, as Parliament acknowledges, that the Member States do not share the same ideas about what minors should or should not be permitted to see. The report considers there to be good reason for aiming at progressive convergence, even if it is premature at this stage to define the criteria involved in such convergence. Although I do not think it is feasible to adopt uniform criteria, I think it is our responsibility to arrive at some classification of the contents of television programmes, while leaving parents the option of deciding whether the programmes may or may not be watched by minors.
I should also like to say something in response to the contents of a national television channel which showed offensive pictures on the pretext of providing information. Let me tell you that, in journalism, there has always been an ethical code and a system of self-regulation for applying this code, and this has operated quite well, I have to say. There are always exceptions, when things go wrong, but exceptions are precisely what they are and all the more shocking for being so. In my opinion, the profession has to be made more responsible so that it takes responsibility itself for the content of broadcasts and for what will and will not be shown. I myself was a professional journalist for twenty years. I will tell you something: journalists cannot write and show everything they know about or are aware of, or divulge all the information they have, because it may do a lot of harm to third parties.
In its report, Parliament also invites the Commission to encourage the creation of a think tank with the job of drawing up a memorandum containing the basic legal principles applied in the Member States for the purpose of protecting minors in the media context. The Commission will respond to this invitation because, as you know, we are due to table the ‘Television without frontiers’ directive again in 2002, with a view to testing the water. I think it will be very important, in that context, to launch a broad debate on our society’s responsibility where the media are concerned. When I say society’s responsibility, I am thinking not only of European governments but also of political responsibility at national level, the responsibility of media practitioners and the responsibility of parents and of society in general.
I am also very aware of the remarks made about education, about training in the interpretation of images and about making younger people more aware of the need to approach the media in a critical frame of mind and not to watch any old thing, at any time and in any way. I would also say that the industry has already devised an international system of self-regulation called the Internet Content Rating Association, in which the Commission participates. Consideration could be given to encouraging the creation of a similar initiative covering audiovisual content. Your thoughts on this matter would be welcome, as they would be in the context of ‘television without frontiers’.
Where, finally, the protection of minors is concerned, I should like to point out that there is a Council Recommendation of 24 September on promoting national frameworks designed to ensure comparable and effective levels of protection of minors and of human dignity. There are plans for the Commission to prepare a report for Parliament and the Council on the measures taken by the Member States to apply this recommendation. The objective of such a study will be to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach proposed, an approach based on the principles of self-regulation, and my officials have just set the work in motion and have sent a questionnaire out to the Member States."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples