In Berlin the desicion of the Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg resulted in the closure of the Community radio Potsdam an less airtime for the other community radios. In support of the community radio sector in the radio project 88vier, CMFE wrote an open letter to the media council Berlin-Brandenburg:

Subject: Decision relating to the non commercial radio project 88vier
(zur Weitergabe an den Medienrat zur Medienratssitzung am 15. Mai 2012)
Nijmegen, 4 May 2012
Dear Prof. Dr. Jutta Limbach,
Dear Media Council of Berlin-Brandenburg

The Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE) supports the requests of our member Bundesverband Freier Radios (BFR) regarding your decision relating
to the noncommercial radio project 88vier:
- To withdraw the decision to revoke the license of Free Radio in Potsdam Frrapo;
- To withdraw the decrease of air-time of the community radio groups;
- Not to discriminate the community radio groups against Open Channel ALEX.

AMARC Public Hearing at European Parliament on Radio Digitalization

The 8th and 9th of May, experts from 15 European countries will gather in Bruxelles in order to discuss the challenges related to the radio digitlization switch over. Single market and communication rights in the digital sphere will be the main topics of the Public Hearing. The event is supported by the GUE group within the Euro
Parliament.

A webstreaming of the hearing will be available at www.guengl.eu, while radio practitioners who cannot attend the meeting, will have the possibility to have an interactive chat through the special twitter channel #GUE/NGL. The outcomes of the meeting will be published in order to set up a road map leading to a political lobby
towards policy makers ensuring social inclusion and cultural diversity in the digital sphere. Stay Tuned!

The CMFE Board member Gabriella Velics reports about the situation of community radios in Hungary:

1. Permits:

In Hungary community radio was legitimised and functioning from 1996 and by the end of 2010 there were sixty-eight small community radio stations across the country. From the beginning of 2011 the new law has made it much more difficult for them to operate, and the number of community radios suddenly fell to forty-four. (database of the Media Authority - mid. february)

Background: All permissions that would have been valid for years had replaced with new authority contracts by 30 June 2011. The Media Authority registered 157 applications before the deadline, but who are familiar with the situation know that only about 70 came from real community broadcasters. By the end of December 2011 the majority of those stations which had applied and received new linear community media service provider status were professional, local or regional commercial-style or religious radio stations; they have paid employees and editors and lack volunteers or a genuine community of radio listeners participating in radio work. In local and regional level 19 new permits were given to mostly those who have strong links to the church or the governing party. Local TV owners and wealthy businessmen got permits even in the so called small community radio level too.

CMFE and AMARC Europe received, on 6 February, a response on behalf of European Commissioner Neelie Kroes, on our letter dated 19 December 2011 titled: "Threats and concerns of local and community media towards the adoption of a single standard for digital radio: Let us not leave community radio behind in the digital revolution'".

The Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE) has released a letter of support to join the campaign of its Spanish members with regards to the actions take by the Jefatura Provincial de Telecomunicaciones of Asturias , the regional media authority, towards community radio stations in the region.

CMFE understands that the Jefatura has sent letters to the residents of the flats that are located in proximity of the FM radio broadcast transmission equipment of community radio stations in the Asturias, where it has requested to those residents to state if they have knowledge of the location and ownership of such transmission systems and where failure to do is sanctioned with fines up to € 500.000.

The Forum is concerned about the enactment of such measures which ignores the fact that the Authority has not been considering the opening of the legitimate licensing system to community radio stations, that have been broadcasting in the region since the 1980s, and that have since then shown demand for a third, not for profit and independent radio sector in the Asturias.