Intergroup meeting in Strasbourg on the Television Without Frontiers Directive (TWF)

On 14 December 2005, the European Commission released a proposal to revise the Television Without Frontiers Directive (TWF). The aim of the directive is to regulate television broadcasting in Europe, including advertising. The provision of measures on alcohol and the protection of minors is an important part of the directive. You can read more about the proposed directive here:

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/avpolicy/reg/tvwf/index_en.htm

Last 14 June, the Health and Consumer Intergroup in the European Parliament met to discuss the impact of the Television without Frontiers Directive on public health. Two essential questions were up for debate:

• Will viewers be able to decide how much advertising they want to watch? How will viewers be able to distinguish between advertising and editorial content?
• Is self-regulation or co-regulation an adequate instrument in this area? Do we need voluntary codes of conduct or legal frameworks?

The notes from the meeting can be downloaded from:

http://intergroup.epha.org/IMG/pdf/HeCoIg_June_meeting_Report_AH_GS20060614.pdf

You can read the EUROCARE position paper here:

http://www.eurocare.org/pdf/papers/twf0606.pdf

More information about the Intergroup and the 14 June meeting can be found here:

http://intergroup.epha.org/article.php3?id_article=14