Do the EC Treaty state aid rules prohibit financing of public broadcasters?
Not at all. Although the financing of public service broadcasters (PSBs) through contributions from the State budget or licence fees is usually state aid as defined in Article 87(1) EC Treaty, it may well be justified if the financing is necessary to fulfil a task in the public interest (“service of general economic interest”, SGEI). This is consistent with the EC Treaty’s rules whereby the application of competition rules to public undertakings and undertakings to which Member States grant special or exclusive rights should not obstruct the performance of the tasks assigned to them (Article 86(2)), as interpreted by the so-called Amsterdam Protocol on public service broadcasting (see below) and the Commission’s 2001 Communication on applying state aid rules to public service broadcasting (see IP/01/1429).
Related Questions
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