Legal & Public Affairs Assembly

The 6th session of the EBU Legal and Public Affairs Assembly will take place in Athens, 10-11 October 2013.

The Assembly, which meets twice a year, brings together Members' senior legal advisers and public affairs experts. It approves the annual priorities, objectives, goals, official positions and action plans in the legal and public affairs sector. It also provides a platform for exchanging and sharing information and expertise.

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Welcome message from The Legal and Public Affairs Directors

The EBU is looking forward to welcoming its Members' legal advisers and public affairs experts to participate in the 6th Legal and Public Affairs Assembly in Athens and to join the debate on freedom of expression and public service media (PSM).

The unexpected closure of  Greek public broadcaster ERT, one of the EBU's founding Members, in June this year sent shockwaves across Europe and was strongly condemned by the EBU, which was instrumental in providing support for the continuity of PSM in the immediate aftermath.

An interim broadcaster was set up following an order by the Greek Council of State and the establishment of a new public service broadcaster, NERIT, based on the new media law has been announced. However the situation is still not resolved.

In light of these dramatic events, it seemed appropriate to host the Assembly in the seat of democracy. The EBU has invited four experts to debate  Article 10 European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of expression) and the indispensability of PSM. Michael Wagner will moderate the panel  comprising Professors Jürgen Schwarze (Freiburg University), Hannes Tretter (Vienna University), Lorna Woods (University of Essex) and Dimitri Yernault (Centre for Public Law, ULB, Brussels). A study on Article 10 ECHR has been commissioned by the EBU and will be published shortly after the Assembly.

The keynote speech will be delivered by Pantelis Kapsis, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, (responsible for Public Radio and Television in Greece). As the principal architect of the new system, he will give his reflections on the rationale behind the change, the vision for the organisation and the challenges faced by the government in implementing the reform.

The first day will close with a round table that will debate the key success factors for independent and sustainable PSM in Greece. Pantelis Kapsis, Theodore Fortsakis (Chairman of the Supervisory Council of NERIT), Marilena Katsimi (General Secretary of the Journalists' Union of Athens Daily Newspapers) and EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre will exchange their views on the subject. The session will be moderated by Ed Mulhall, former Managing Director, News and Current Affairs, RTÉ (Ireland).

In addition, the two-day session will provide Members with the opportunity to discuss a number of key topics, including copyright and media convergence. Ruurd Bierman, VISION2020 project manager, will present some of the project's preliminary conclusions and Guillaume Klossa will share his thoughts on the challenges facing the EBU and its Members and speak of the opportunity represented by the 2014 European elections.

We are looking forward to fruitful and stimulating discussions in Athens.

For any additional information, please contact the EBU Legal Secretariat:

EBULegal@ebu.ch
+41 22 717 2505

Accommodation

Hotel information

No transportation is being organised, further information on airport transfers can be found here

Venue

Athenaeum Intercontinental Hotel