The European Commission has approved the new tax–based funding system for the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, on which it had opened a formal investigation under EU state aid rules in December 2009.

Spain abolished advertising and other commercial activities of RTVE and replaced this source of income by new taxes on TV and telecommunications operators. The Commission had doubts concerning the compatibility of the new taxes with EU law, in particular the rules on electronic communications networks and services. However, the Commission has now concluded that the compatibility of the aid to RTVE is not affected by the legality of the new taxes and that the measure is in line with the state aid rules, because it ensures that RTVE will not be overcompensated for providing public broadcasting services.

The rules on state aid to public service broadcasting leave Member States a wide discretion on the way they finance the services of public broadcasting, provided there is no unfair discrimination between operators and no over–compensation.

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