The EBU has proclaimed its support for the UNI-MEI emergency resolution to maintain the integrity, breadth, and the future of the BBC.

As the world’s leading alliance of public service media, the EBU fully stands by UNI-MEI’s “commitment to the principle of publicly funded broadcasting, which informs, educates, entertains, and contributes, to the culture and democracy of citizens.”

In September 2015, the EBU wrote to the UK government, highlighting that “to in order to remain relevant in the future the BBC needs to maintain a strong legal framework, which ensures its editorial independence and sustainable funding.”

Adopted on 28 October during the UNI-MEI General Assembly in Lisbon, the emergency resolution acclaims the British broadcaster’s global reputation “as a as a producer with high standards, and a wide range of imaginative content”, while condemning significant changes to the BBC's funding model, which would “lead to a 20% reduction in BBC income by 2020.”

UNI MEI, a division of UNI Global Union, is a worldwide ferderation of unions representing workers in the media, entertainment, arts and sports sectors. It brings together over 100 union and guilds in over 70 countries.

FULL TEXT OF EMERGENCY RESOLUTION: Support for the campaign to maintain the integrity, breadth, and the future of the BBC

This General Assembly of UNI-MEI recognises the United Kingdom's British Broadcasting Corporation as one of the world's most respected and influential public broadcasters.

Many other public broadcasters have been structured to reflect in some way the BBC's model of funding direct from households in a licence system, no advertising in its home territories, and independence from government, and binding commitment to public service values.

Broadcasters across the globe, both public and commercial, have for many years transmitted BBC content, particularly in TV, and these programmes have strengthened the BBC's reputation as a producer with high standards, and a wide range of imaginative content.

In its home market, 72% of people rate their television services as good quality, the highest proportion in the world, partly due to the BBC setting the quality target for all UK broadcasters.

The Assembly is therefore concerned at the significant change to the BBC's funding model, recently announced, whereby government will no longer refund the cost of providing free television licences to homes with elderly occupants.

This will lead to a 20% reduction in BBC income by 2020, and comes after a five-year period during which the BBC's licence fee price has been frozen at about €198. This is a lower level than most Scandinavian countries, Austria, and Germany.

During this period, the BBC has been forced to take responsibility for funding the internationally renowned World Service, and a Welsh-language TV channel, both previously paid for by government, now costing approximately 10% of the BBC's income.

Thousands of jobs been lost, budgets for all activities have been cut, and there has been widespread outsourcing of programme-making and other services, always resulting in lower pay, worse conditions, and less security for workers.

This Assembly believes that the actions of the UK government are designed to reduce the services offered by the BBC, to the detriment of viewers, listeners, and creators, across the world, in order to create new opportunities for profit-driven global media corporations.

The BBC has a long history of influencing other public broadcasters, and there is a risk that major reductions in funding could be copied in other countries, putting public service broadcasting in severe peril.

UNI-MEI reaffirms its commitment to the principle of publicly funded broadcasting, which informs, educates, entertains, and contributes, to the culture and democracy of citizens.

Furthermore, the Assembly pledges to support the UK's media unions in their campaign to maintain the integrity, breadth, and the future of the BBC by winning an adequate funding formula to pay for its services.