The Chamber of Deputies to vote on bill to eliminate around 100 non-fiscal charges proposed by the Social Democratic Party.
After being approved by the Senate, a bill initiated by the Social Democratic Party on the elimination of around 100 non-fiscal charges will be debated by the Chamber of Deputies, Parliament's decision-making body. On Monday, the chamber's budget and finance committee gave its positive opinion on the bill. The charges to be eliminated include the so-called "green stamp duty" for vehicles, the fees for issuing tax records and temporary passports, for replacing lost identity papers or for alterations in identity papers, the fees for issuing recreational and sport fishing permits, etc.
The Chamber of Deputies' budget and finance committee established, however, that the public radio and TV licence fee would not be eliminated. The proposal to eliminate this fee sparked a lot of reaction among politicians, civil society and representatives of international public media institutions, all of whom say the measure would significantly affect the autonomy and independence of the public radio and TV stations. Radio Romania's Management Board warned that the public radio may become vulnerable to political control and lose its credibility in the exercise of its public mission in the citizen's best interest. The Romanian Television shared this position.
The financing of the public radio and TV services from the state budget is the worst possible solution, said the Legal Director of the European Broadcasting Union Richard Burnley, while the Network Manager of BBC Radio 4, Dennis Lowlan, said the BBC has been financed through a fee for more than 90 years, which has been a guarantee of the station's independence. Vincent Lemaire, from Radio France, agreed that public funding is a guarantee of editorial independence:
"It's very important for us to know that the audience is our direct sponsor. It is a relationship that entails our responsibility before the audience for they are the ones that pay for our services. This is what makes us truly dedicated to this cause."
Most public media services in Europe are funded by licence fees and in countries where such fees do not exist, the editorial independence is affected. In Romania, the Radio and TV licence fee accounts for 67.56% of the Public Television's revenues and for 49% of those of the public radio. The fee stands at 0.8 euros per month for the TV service and 0.6 euros for the radio service, which makes it the lowest in Europe.
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