European Commissioner Kroes on Digital Agenda for Europe

At the Media Lounge event of the Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT), the Association of European Radios (AER), the Association of Television and Radio Sales Houses (EGTA), the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA), the European Publishers Council (EPC), the European Association of Magazine Publishers (FAEP) and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) at the European Parliament on 30^th June 2010, the European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, Ms Neelie Kroes, addressed the main focus of the event: media transformation and development in the social life of European citizens.

In light of the discussions about the Digital Agenda, aimed to maximize the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and spread the benefits of the digital revolution to all, the Commissioner emphasized the importance of new technologies in shaping and modifying traditional communication platforms. The most crucial point for Europe as a whole is to define what these changes specifically mean for broadcasting, radio, print and online media. The answer should involve, not only politicians, but also content producers and publishers.

In this framework, democracy can be enhanced, as described through by the Commissioner, through the protection of pluralism as “an anchor of European values”.

See the full text of the keynote speech here.