The second meeting of the Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities was held in Athens on 18 and 19 June 1998.
Following the meeting in Barcelona on 28 and 29 November 1997, the Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel of France (CSA), the Alta Autoridade para a Comunicação Social of Portugal (AACS), the Conseil national de radio-télévision of Greece (CNRTV), the Ufficio del Garante per la Radiodiffusione e l’Editoria of Italy and the Consell de l’Audiovisuel de Catalunya (CAC) met in Athens at the invitation of the Conseil national de radio-télévision of Greece.
To better reflect the diversity of the Mediterranean identity, the network decided, unanimously, to widen and invite regulators from the following countries: Cyprus, Israel, Malta, Tunisia and Turkey. The next meeting will be organized by the Alta Autoridade para a Comunicação Social in Lisbon in 1999.
Italy has invited participants to Naples for the meeting of 2000. The Presidency will be held for a year by the organizing body. The Barcelona Declaration, as guiding of the network, will be amended accordingly.
Meanwhile, a working group composed of experts appointed by each authority will meet in Paris at the Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel of France to reflect on the satellite control, cable and digital broadcasting.
The Permanent Secretariat of the network continues to be provided by the Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel.
Most of the discussions at the second meeting of the network were dedicated to the protection of childhood and adolescence in television programs. Catalonia, France, Italy and Portugal have submitted their national experiences in this field. Greece submitted its draft code of conduct. A strong consensus has been remarked in favor of the age rating of programs, the auto – regulation and the accountability of parents and broadcasters.
This presupposes ongoing consultation with all operators.