According to the government, the bill aims to bring the nearly 20-year-old legal framework into line with today's media and digital environment and European Union law.

"Public broadcasting must be able to keep pace with the rapidly changing media landscape. We are updating the law to bring it into line with European regulations and creating a clearer funding model for ERR. This will give public broadcasting a strong foundation for fulfilling its public service remit in the future as well," Culture Minister Heidy Purga (Reform) said.

The bill focuses on making ERR's funding more predictable over the long term and putting public service media on a technology-neutral footing.

The bill provides for a four-year framework funding agreement, which the government says will make ERR's funding more transparent and predictable.

ERR's public service remit will also no longer be tied to a specific technology. Instead, the law will take into account that, in addition to radio and television, the public broadcaster also operates on online platforms.

The bill will also establish an independent mechanism for assessing the impact of significant new media services and revise ERR's governance model.

As in the fields of culture and education, the employment contracts of editors-in-chief and department heads will become fixed-term contracts, giving the organization greater flexibility in its development.

ERR's responsibilities in promoting education, lifelong learning and media literacy will also be clarified.

The currently open-ended employment contracts of editors-in-chief, editorial department heads and the ethics adviser will also be changed to fixed terms of up to five years.

The legislative amendments are scheduled to enter into force on January 1, 2027.

ERR CEO: The changes do not solve the organization's funding problem

According to CEO Erik Roose, the government's proposal does not solve the problem of funding public broadcasting.

Roose noted that the European Union's European Media Freedom Act requires long-term and sustainable funding for public service media. "The amendment does ensure long-term funding, but not sustainability, meaning adequacy," Roose said.

Although the government would ensure stable funding, rising living costs mean that funding for public broadcasting would effectively decline. Any increase in funding would still depend on a political decision.

Roose stressed that there needs to be certainty about exactly how funding will change over the four-year period, including whether it would affect, for example, the payroll budget or coverage of major events.

Under the recently completed state budget, the total amount of funding allocated to ERR in 2027 is €44.76 million, compared with €43.46 million a year earlier.

The increase in total funding is due to funds allocated for pay raises (€0.53 million) and the transfer to the Ministry of Culture's budget of €0.77 million earmarked for ERR in the government's targeted reserve for comprehensive national defense expenditure.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!