Members of the Executive Board of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have expressed their dismay to learn that the proposed amendments to the Law on Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) are currently scheduled to be discussed by the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament) after Easter without any due consideration being given to recommendations from the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, nor to the critical observations expressed by the Seimas’ own legal experts and both the national and international journalist communities

The Executive Board - whose members are the leaders of 8 public service media organizations throughout Europe - stressed again on behalf of the EBU and their own organizations that the current draft law would only further increase the vulnerability of LRT to political pressure and thus severely undermine LRT’s public service remit and vital role in providing the Lithuanian public with independent, reliable and pluralistic information.

The Executive Board also recalled the criticism expressed by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, which noted that the process leading up to the amendments to the Law on the LRT raised concerns as it was inconsistent with "European good practices in democratic law-making“. The Executive Board also believes that a broader consultation with national stakeholders taking into account good practices and recognized standards within Europe, is of critical importance when undertaking a reform of the governance of a public service media institution that is entrusted with serving the plurality of views within a democratic society.

The Executive Board reiterated its support for the following specific concerns raised by the Venice Commission, which have so far been disregarded by the working group that prepared the current draft law:

- maintaining provisions that freeze and limit LRT funding without any comprehensive impact assessment.

The Venice Commission recommended amending paragraph 5 of Article 19 of the current Law on LRT (the provision retained in the new draft) based on a comprehensive assessment of whether the current funding model adequately enables LRT to fulfill its public-service remit. The Legal Department of the Seimas has also pointed out that certain provisions of the draft law were likely to weaken LRT’s ability to fulfil its public service mission and went beyond the scope of recommendations from the State Audit Office.

- providing early dismissal grounds for the Director General such as “improper performance” and “violation of the public interest” that appear excessively vague, subjective and open to interpretation.

The Venice Commission recommended to establish clear and objective criteria for the early dismissal of the LRT Director General, limited to exceptional circumstances and ensuring that any dismissal decision is duly reasoned and subject to effective judicial review. The Seimas Legal Department has also warned that such criteria may not meet the requirements of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which requires clearly defined and exceptional grounds for the dismissal of public service media leadership.

- treating the new rules for dismissing the LRT manager without providing sufficient safeguards for the transition creates the appearance of legislation directed at the current office-holder.

The Venice Commission recommended to ensure that any revised dismissal procedures apply only to Directors General appointed after the entry into force of the amendments, thereby avoiding the appearance of ad personam legislation.

- introducing provisions that could enable intrusive oversight of editorial activities, including granting supervisory bodies (and their sub-bodies) with powers impacting on programming and participation in LRT content.

These provisions contradict Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2012)1 on public service media governance, which states that supervisory bodies should exercise strategic oversight but must not interfere in editorial decisions or programme-making. The Seimas Legal Department has also highlighted the lack of legal clarity in these provisions.

Likewise, an expanded governance model for LRT, as proposed by the current draft law, would further blur the line between what constitutes a necessary strategic oversight of LRT’s activities and what would constitute an undue interference in the independent editorial autonomy of LRT.

Although not included in the current draft law, the Executive Board has also taken note of the initial proposal made by the working group established by the Seimas Board to consider a future funding model for LRT based on a narrowly defined public service contract, under which LRT would receive funding only for services not provided by commercial media. This proposal also raises serious concerns.

Public service media and commercial media fulfil different but complementary roles in a healthy media ecosystem. While fair competition and cooperation between the two sectors are important, the mission of public service media cannot be confined to filling gaps left by the market. Public service media are designed to serve society as a whole by offering a diverse range of programming that informs, educates and entertains, while fostering cultural expression, social understanding and democratic debate as recognized by the European Media Freedom Act (Article 5.1 and recital 27). Framing their remit narrowly would risk undermining this wider public value and could ultimately prevent public service media from fulfilling their democratic role in society.

This proposal to review the funding model of LRT fits with the larger picture of the current draft law planned to be discussed by the Seimas after Easter: it conflicts with certain key provisions of EU law and fails to respect European standards for public service media as recognized by the Council of Europe.

Taking all of the above into consideration, the EBU Executive Board strongly urges the Lithuanian authorities to withdraw the draft law on LRT from the agenda of the Seimas legislative session.

In doing so, the Executive Board also reiterates that the EBU and other international organizations and journalist federations stand ready to engage constructively with Lithuanian stakeholders in a broader consultation to ensure that any final adopted reform of LRT’s legal framework will fully respect European standards for independent public service media.


Signed:

EBU President: Delphine Ernotte-Cunci, CEO, France Télévisions (France)

EBU Vice-President: Cilla Benkö, Director General, SR (Sweden)

Nathalie Biancolli, Director General, TV Monaco (Monaco)

Mykola Chernotytskyi, Head of the Managing Board, Suspilne Ukraine (Ukraine)

Milen Mitev, Director General, BNR (Bulgaria)

Nicolau Santos, President, RTP (Portugal)

Katja Wildermuth, Director General, BR (Germany)

Tim Davie, Director General, BBC (UK)