Open AccessCatch 22: The Privatization of Danish TV 2 vs. EU Rules of State Aid
Author(s) -
Frands Mortensen
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
mediekultur
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1901-9726
pISSN - 0900-9671
DOI - 10.7146/mediekultur.v22i40.1319
Subject(s) - danish , parliament , commission , treaty , state (computer science) , political science , consolidation (business) , equity (law) , law , business , public administration , politics , finance , computer science , philosophy , linguistics , algorithm
Since 2001, the Danish government has wanted to privatize the public \udbroadcaster TV 2; however, the sales process has been halted. Ap-\udparently the EU rules on competition block for the will of the majority in \udthe Danish parliament. The presentation explains this paradox by de-\udscribing the historical development of two processes: the attempt to \udthe privatize TV 2 and the state aid cases against TV 2, which were \udopened by the Commission and now pending at the Court of First In-\udstance. The conclusion finds no inconsistency between the govern-\udment's wish and the rules on State aid, but TV 2 has unlawfully trans-\udferred funding for programming to equity capital, and the Commissi-\udons has misinterpreted the conditions for using Article 86(2) in the \udTreaty in the evaluation of the recapitalization of TV 2. These two \udprocesses now obstruct each other