Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz and Dr. Tobias Mast have provided their expert opinion on the State Treaty on the Reform of the Procedure for Setting the Broadcasting Fee (RFinÄStV). At the end of 2004, the federal states had decided to separate the pillars of the reform of public broadcasting and to adopt the draft reform first and to continue the process of reforming the procedure for setting the licence fee separately.
The adoption of the draft reform treaty does not release the federal states from their constitutional obligation to ensure the proper financing of public broadcasting in a federal community of responsibility. Ignoring the KEF’s recommendation without compensation – or a constitutional justification – is not compatible with this. Against this background, the broadcasters have filed a constitutional complaint.
The considerations in the short report assess the draft of a state treaty to reform the procedure for determining the broadcasting contribution without considering the question of how the current situation is to be assessed from a legal point of view. However, it seems unlikely that the draft treaty will lead to such large savings in the current contribution period that an increase can be avoided, so that urgent action is needed.
Available for download: Wolfgang Schulz / Tobias M. Mast (2025): Staatsvertrag zur Reform des Verfahrens zur Festsetzung des Rundfunkbeitrags (RFinÄStV). Kurzstellungnahme [State Treaty on the Reform of the Procedure for Setting the Broadcasting License Fee. Brief Expert Opinion]. Hamburg, 17 March 2025. https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/100912