MUMBAI: A clear mandate and sufficient funding to offer a full and evolving range of services in the new media is what the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is hoping from pubcasters in Europe.

To achieve this, the EBU has called on the European Union's (EU) 25 member states to support the EU's Lisbon Strategy

EBU is the professional association of Europe's public service broadcasters. Senior officials of the EBU were attending a conference organised by the Dutch government - current holder of the EU presidency. The conference was called The key role of public service broadcasting in the 21st century .

The earlier mentioned Lisbon Strategy sees a decisive role for the audiovisual sector in making Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010.

EBU President Arne Wessberg, who is director general of the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation YLE, said that it was the responsibility of public broadcasters to serve the diversity of publics and cultures within their country. This can be done through the new electronic media as well as on television and radio.

He said, "Public service broadcasters must be given proper possibilities, by the societies in which they operate, to serve citizens with all media technologies they choose to use, and under adequate and predictable economic conditions".