GUE/NGL denounces biased CULT committee appointments

The European Parliament's Conference of Presidents (COP) agreed today to allow S&D’s Petra Kammerevert and EPP’s Sabine Verheyen to continue as co-rapporteurs of the audio-visual media services directive report in the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT).

GUE/NGL condemns the decision not only because such shared arrangements are inconsistent with the parliament’s rules and viable only as exceptions, but also because the assignment of the file to Ms Kammerevert and Ms Verheyen has caused public outrage.

The two German rapporteurs were denounced as unfit for the role because of their membership in Germany’s body that oversees public broadcasters, from which they have received financial contributions, and the possibility of bias in favour of Germany’s broadcasting sector.

GUE/NGL expected for the COP to at least send the decision back to the committee for further deliberation and scrutiny but this was not the case. PPE and S&D have put their interests above that of public interest and were opposed by all other parliamentary groups that voted against the allocation of this file.

GUE/NGL coordinator in the CULT committee Curzio Maltese said : “S&D’s President Gianni Pittella is always very keen to talk about change in his speeches in the chamber, but clearly unwilling to deliver when it comes to practice.”