AUDIOVISUAL POLICY : COURT UPHOLDS AID TO FRANCE TELEVISIONS.

• Position: European Union. European Commission - Brief article

The aid granted by the French authorities to the public group France Televisions, in the form of capital funding of 150 million, was validated by the EU General Court on 1 July(1).

The subsidy was intended to compensate for the abolition of advertising on the group's channels, France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5, France O and Radio France Outremer (French Overseas Network). The funding is compatible with EU rules on state aid, held the court, since it aimed to allow the channels to remedy the loss of income caused by the discontinuation of advertising, and to enable France Televisions to make the investments needed to cover the net costs of providing a public service.

The case concerned an appeal brought by two French private channels, Metropole television (M6) and Television francaise 1 (TF1), for annulment of the Commission's decision of 16 July 2008 declaring the aid...