[cma-l] Urgent - write to your regional MEPs to support community radio in Europe

[Jaqui Devereux]

Dear all

Please see below the call from AMARC Europe to lobby your local MEPs to
support the proposal to the EU for a pilot project to fund community radio
across Europe, including suggested text for an email to them.  We hope as
many of you as can will send an email to your MEPs to support this
proposal.  A list of your regional MEPs can be found here and their email
addresses all use the same format - 1stname.surname at europarl.europa.eu

http://www.europarl.org.uk/en/your_MEPs/List-MEPs-by-region.html

Thanks

Jaqui

Dear Colleagues,

Last July I e-mailed you to ask you to lobby your MEPs to support the Pilot
Project presented by the GUE/NGL group in the European parliament in behalf
of AMARC Europe. The approval of this project will represent funding for
projects carried out by Community Radios at European and National level.
You can find all info about the project and the lobbying campaign on
http://www.d1186807-19563.cp.blacknight.com/lobby-for-support-for-the-community-radio-pilot-project-proposed-to-cult-committee-of-european-parliament/.
The latest news are not so positive,
* as the Culture Committee of the European Parliament voted on the EU
Budget 2014 on 5 September and the Pilot Project presented by AMARC Europe
did not receive sufficient support to pass.*

However, there is still a chance for the project to be passed, if approved
at plenary level. The decisive vote will be in the *Budget Committee* on *2/3
October*.

The *deadline* for submitting an amendment to the Budget Committee is *12
September* at 12.00. We need you to lobby your MEPs again to ask them to
intercede with their European colleagues to support the project. And below
I am including the text to send to your MEPs.

In order to be successful it is important that the amendments are presented
(AMARC will look after that) and supported by political groups, and in
particular by the larger political groups, like the social democrats
(labour party) and the conservative/christian democrat group (Fine Gael).


Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On behalf of my organisation ______________________           (name of the
radio) I would like to bring your attention to the Pilot Project
entitled *Community
Radios: Fostering European citizenship through cultural diversity and
social inclusion *and tabled by Marie-Christine Vergiat MEP to the CULT
committee.



This Pilot Project concerns the need to foster European citizenship,
cultural diversity and social inclusion through cross-border cooperation
and reinforcement of the Community Radio sector in Europe in the EU budget
for 2014.

Community Media (CM) is now referred to as the “third sector” of media,
alongside public and private commercial media. In recent years the *European
Parliament* (2008), *the Council of Europe* (2009) and *UNESCO* have
declared their support for CM, encouraging the Member States to recognise
and develop community media because of its social functions.  We also
recall the *OSCE** Human Dimension Seminar Media Freedom Legal
Framework*of May 14, 2013, which highlights the need for recognition
of the three
sectors of communication.
However, despise the important role of community media in fostering active
citizenship, education and cultural diversity, *the Pilot Project presented
by AMARC Europe did not receive sufficient support to pass when* *the Culture
Committee of the European Parliament voted on the EU Budget 2014 on 5
September. *

*However, there is still a chance for the project to be passed, if approved
at plenary level. The decisive vote on the amended budget presented by
AMARC Europe will be in the Budget Committee on 2/3 October. Community
Media in Ireland and Europe would really appreciate if you could share your
experience of community radio with the Budget Committee.*




-- 
Jaqui Devereux
Director
Community Media Association

<http://goog_1822693262>http://www.commedia.org.uk/
http://twitter.com/community_media
https://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation

t: +44 (0)114 279 5219

Canstream Internet Radio & Video
http://www.canstream.co.uk/
 <https://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation>
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