On 3 October, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission met with the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) new president, Fritz Pleitgen, in Brussels. During the meeting they discussed European policies and issues of concern for public service broadcasters.
Public service broadcasting is the cornerstone of the media in every Member State of the European Union and helps nurture and cherish national and European culture. Over 350 million Europeans access services provided by public service broadcasters every week. EBU members promote dialogue between cultures, and cultural diversity.
On 22 and 23 November, the European Commission is organising a conference on intercultural dialogue aiming at selecting, promoting and exchanging best practices, which demonstrate the relevance of intercultural dialogue in the framework of Community programs.
Commenting on this topic, Pleitgen said: “Dialogue between different cultures is of particular interest to audiovisual media”. He went on to inform the President of the Commission that, “the EBU conference on ‘Migration and Integration’ in Essen on 23 and 24 November will be a perfect opportunity for us to reflect on the role of the media in the European immigration society and to explore new routes.”
