Competition Policy in the Media Sector: Current Issues and Future Challenges

Type: 
Lecture
Audience: 
Open to the Public
Speaker: 
Lajos Bokros
Philip Lowe
Monica Arino
Building: 
Nador u. 9, Faculty Tower
Room: 
Auditorium
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 5:00pm
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Date: 
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 5:00pm to 7:00pm

Center for Policy Studies (CPS) - Master’s Program in Public Policy (MPP) and the CEU Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS) presented a public lecture by PHILIP LOWE, Director General of Competition, European Commission

The competitive process in the media sector could be undermined by abusive behavior of firms or by unfair state subsidy to media activities. The principal competition issues related to the sale of exclusive audiovisual sports rights and State financing of public service broadcasting companies. The Commission's policy was aimed at ensuring fair competition, diversity and consumer choice. Given technological developments and media convergence, it was more important than ever to ensure that media companies compete fairly and that consumers have access to a wide range of services at competitive prices.

Philip Lowe joined the European Commission at the end of 1973 where he worked in the fields of loans and borrowings, steel restructuring and regional development before becoming Chef de Cabinet of Bruce Millan, European Commissioner for Regional Policies in 1989. In 1991, he was appointed Director of Rural Development in the Directorate General for Agriculture. From 1993 to 1995, he was Director of the Merger Task Force in the Directorate General for Competition. In December 1997, he was appointed Director General for Development; he was responsible in particular for the negotiation of the EU-ACP Cotonou Partnership Agreement and the EU-South Africa Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement. In June 2000, he was appointed Chef de Cabinet to Vice-President Neil Kinnock, who is responsible for the administrative reform of the Commission. From 1st February 2002, he was seconded to the Secretariat General and appointed acting Deputy Secretary-General responsible for relations with the Council, until taking up his appointment as Director General of Competition on 1st September 2002.

Introduction by:

  • Monica Arino, Visiting Professor, Master’s Program in Public Policy (MPP) Media Stream, CPS/CEU; Center for Media and Communications Studies (CMCS), Central European University, Budapest
  • Szabolcs Koppanyi, Visiting Professor, Master’s Program in Public Policy (MPP) Media Stream, CPS/CEU; Center for Infocommunications Law (CIL) Institute for Legal Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest

Chair:

  • Lajos Bokros, Professor/Senior Vice President for Special Projects, Center for Policy Studies (CPS)