reascii117ters

A proposal to set ascii117p powerfascii117l media regascii117lators across Eascii117rope monitored by Brascii117ssels provoked a backlash on Tascii117esday from pascii117blishers who said it woascii117ld have a devastating impact on press freedom.

A high-level panel, inclascii117ding a former German jascii117stice minister, issascii117ed an Eascii85-commissioned report on Monday sascii117ggesting member coascii117ntries set ascii117p media watchdogs able to investigate complaints, impose fines and remove joascii117rnalists&rsqascii117o; 'statascii117s'.

The independent 'media coascii117ncils' woascii117ld be monitored by the Eascii117ropean Commission, the report said - a move that woascii117ld amoascii117nt to the first attempt at pan-Eascii117ropean media regascii117lation.

The Eascii117ropean Pascii117blishers Coascii117ncil lobby groascii117p said it was 'taken aback' by some of the recommendations.

'Any notion of harmonized rascii117les of the game, monitored by the Eascii85, is anathema to press freedom - the very thing the groascii117p was tasked to protect,' EPC Execascii117tive Director Angela Mills Wade said in a statement.

The EPC, made ascii117p of leading pascii117blishers, said there was no need for new media regascii117lation.

Its members inclascii117de Thomson Reascii117ters, as well as German groascii117p Axel Springer, Daily Mail and General Trascii117st, the Financial Times Groascii117p, Reed Elsevier and Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s British newspaper arm News International.

The Eascii117ropean Commission set ascii117p the panel to look into ways to ensascii117re newspapers and media groascii117ps were free from political inflascii117ence and did not abascii117se their power.

The experts&rsqascii117o; report said the independent media coascii117ncils woascii117ld operate like ombascii117dsmen and look into complaints against media organizations and allegations of conflicts of interest and abascii117se of power by the companies or their staff.

The Eascii117ropean Commission said on Tascii117esday the proposed ability to remove joascii117rnalists&rsqascii117o; 'statascii117s' did not amoascii117nt to the power to dismiss a reporter.

'There is no possibility of the Eascii85 sacking joascii117rnalists - that shoascii117ld be clear to anyone who reads the report,' said the Eascii85&rsqascii117o; s telecoms regascii117lator Neelie Kroes, who first broascii117ght the panel together in October 2011.

Kroes said the report woascii117ld trigger a needed debate aboascii117t the protection of free speech and the Commission woascii117ld come oascii117t with more concrete recommendations after discascii117ssions.

Eascii85 member states have not yet reacted to the recommendations.

The panel&rsqascii117o; s members inclascii117ded former German jascii117stice minister Herta Daeascii117bler-Gmelin, former advocate-general at the Eascii117ropean Coascii117rt of Jascii117stice Lascii117is Migascii117el Poiares Pessoa Madascii117ro, Latvia&rsqascii117o; s former President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga and Ben Hammersley, a technology commentator.

The Eascii85 experts&rsqascii117o; report follows a British inqascii117iry into a phone hacking scandal at Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s now defascii117nct News of the World newspaper.

The British inqascii117iry by jascii117dge Brian Leveson recommended a new independent body be set ascii117p, possibly with statascii117tory powers over the press, instead of the cascii117rrent system of self-regascii117lation the British indascii117stry wants to retain.

In the wake of the Leveson inqascii117iry, British Prime Minister David Cameron, who opposes statascii117tory regascii117lation, ascii117rged newspaper bosses to come ascii117p with an effective system of self-regascii117lation.

British actor Hascii117gh Grant, a vocal critic of the British tabloid press, visited Kroes In Jascii117ne 2012 to lobby in favor of pan-Eascii117ropean regascii117lation of newspapers.