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At present, it is not legally possible to provide a temporary media service for Klubrádió, emphasizes Monika Karas, president of the National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH), in her response to the European Commission on Friday in response to the committee’s letter. to the Hungarian authorities on February 12.
According to a letter addressed to Director General Roberto Viola, which was also sent to the MTI, “there is no legal possibility under EU law or Hungarian law based on it that would provide a temporary media service opportunity for Klubrádió in the situation current “.
According to the president of the NMHH, “the Commission would not be interested in following a procedure contrary to the law, the principle of equal treatment, since it would not meet the criteria of the rule of law that are important to all of us.” “.
The procedure complies with the rule of law
Karas Monika recalls that she has repeatedly presented her legal position to the European Commission, which, however, “does not react to the arguments, it ignores the objective facts.”
NMHH and the President of the Media Council maintain that the European Commission’s “directive” references to electronic communications services are not applicable to Klubrádió, and that “both the national regulations and the Media Council procedure comply in all respects with the state of law guaranteed by the EU and Hungarian law. “.
By law, the renewal of a media service right without tendering is an exceptional procedure, a benefit that can only be applied if the media service provider requesting the renewal has complied with all legislation during its operation prior to the request. In the case of renewal, only a serious or repeated infringement is excluded. This is, in my opinion, a proportionate and fair criterion Monika Karas says in her answer.
Conditions for legal operation were not met
Legal regulations in Hungarian law have remained unchanged for almost 25 years, Klubrádió has been providing media services for over twenty years, so Klubrádió was also aware of the existing legal environment. However, during the Klubrádió operation between 2014 and 2021 committed an offense in six cases, of which he repeated the same violation twice, that is, twice within 365 days, did not comply with the obligation to provide information – recalls the president of NMHH.
Under the law, it is no longer possible to reconsider or overturn previous violations in the extension process. The repeated violations of Club Radio, which prevent renewal, cannot be considered minor: Club Radio did not comply with its reporting obligations for a total of 18 months, which prevented the verification of legal obligations under EU law. Therefore, it can be stated that in the case of Klubrádió, the conditions for legal operation did not exist, the letter states.
They took into account the financial situation of the radio
The law clearly stipulates the consequences of the violation, so the media council has no discretion in this area. In the event of non-compliance with the obligation to provide information, the Media Council imposes a fine and has the sole discretion to determine the amount of the fine.
The amount of the fine was low in both cases, but this was not because the violations were not significant, but rather because the media council had taken note of the financial situation of Club Radio and did not want to use a sanction that made it impossible or make it difficult to operate the radio.
Therefore, the seriousness of the infringement cannot be deduced solely from the amount of the fine. However, an important fact is that the violations and their seriousness were recognized by Klubrádió itself by not seeking judicial redress against the decisions – read in the letter.
They can participate in another application
The extension of the right to provide media services without a tender is excluded by current law, the media council had no discretion to decide on Klubrádió’s renewal request. In its February 9 ruling, the Metropolitan Court clearly confirmed that the Media Council had made a legitimate decision not to extend Club Radio’s right on the basis of the available facts.
All of these are clear and objective conditions, for whose application the media council acts in a demonstrable manner, regardless of any political issue or party affiliation, and excludes those who do not meet the relevant legal conditions from the benefit of renewal.
– In my previous letter I explained in detail and point by point that the Media Council refused to extend the right of media service in several other radio stations, including the case of Klubrádió, when the repeated breach of the obligation to report monthly was the reason for the exclusion – Monika’s letter also that the media council has launched a new tender for the Radio Club frequency, Of what it did not exclude Club Radio, it is more, the radio enjoys an advantage in the bidding rules because it offered its program on that frequency.
The Media Council will continue the application process, in which only Club Radio currently participates, the letter says.
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