Following the Agreement on Cooperation among Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania of 2005, a traditional annual meeting of the regulators of the audiovisual markets of the 3 Baltic states took place in Vilnius on 2 March 2011 in order to discuss the problems and exchange the views as well as share experience on numerous common issues. On the invitation of the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania the representatives from the Latvian Council of Electronic Media, Estonian Ministry of Culture , Estonian PSB Council, as well as Lithuanian Ministry of Culture and Lithuanian National Radio and Television Council took part in the meeting.

 

The aim of the meeting was to analyse the problems and experience in regard to the implementation of the AVMS directive, which was  recently transposed into national legislation of all the three Baltic states. Special attention was paid to IPTV, VOD, commercial communications, sponsorship and product placement regulation issues. Taking into account the similarities of  the small audiovisual markets of the three Baltic states such trilateral meetings appear to be very constructive and useful, especially in making decisions on different aspects in respective states later on.

 

Considerable part of the meeting was dedicated to the discussions of the outcomes and further development of the switchover to digital TV in Latvia and Estonia as well as the review of Lithuania‘s achievements in this regard. Much attention was also paid to the PSB issues in respective states, especially its financing and implementation of the mission challenges.