Council Resolution

of 26 June 2000

on the conservation and enhancement of European cinema heritage

(2000/C 193/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

1. IS MINDFUL that the European cinema archives constitute a vast legacy of films covering the history of the cinema, including most surviving European works and much of the production of other continents;

2. NOTES that this legacy, thought to encompass around a million short-feature and full-length feature films representative of every genre, represents a varied audiovisual collection which is extremely important internationally;

3. EMPHASISES that its application in the twenty-first century can play a decisive role in consolidating the cultural identity of Europan countries both in their common aspects and in their diversity. Citizens, in particular future generations, will, through the medium of these works, have access to one of the most significant forms of artistic expression of the last 100 years and a unique record of the life, customs, history and geography of Europe. Furthermore, the inherent reproducibility and mobility of the cinema medium make it an excellent vehicle for the reciprocal spread of knowledge among peoples;

4. NOTES futher that, as highlighted in the Council conclusions of 17 December 1999 on cultural industries and employment in Europe(1), in the present climate of proliferating distribution channels which increase demand for new programme contents, this form of cultural heritage too "is an important basis for creating new cultural products";

5. NOTES, however, that most of the works stored continue to face the threat of irreversible material degeneration owing to the fragility of the basic support media and to technical and scientific problems or remain hidden away on archive shelves owing to structural blockages hampering extensive distribution;

6. RECOGNISES that the preservation, restoration and public distribution work done by archives still needs further clarification in the context of international intellectual property agreements and that it is important for this work to be done in accordance with those agreements;

7. NOTES the importance of avoiding works remaining blocked in the archives through the failure to identify their legitimate rights-holders;

8. IS AWARE that certain Member States have no arrangements for the legal storage of motion pictures and do not consider a legal framwork at international or Community level to be desirable;

9. NOTES the expediency of work which takes account of what has already been undertaken or is under way at international organisations, in particular the Council of Europe;

10. IS AWARE that, on the other hand, little of the proceeds from the commercial use of these works is reinvested in conservation work;

11. NOTES, however, that the obstacles mentioned above could be overcome in certain cases, as Europe can rely on a clear advantage from a technical and scientific point of view;

12. RECOGNISES also the efforts already undertaken and the results attained at a European level, even if much still needs to be done;

13. CONSIDERS, moreover, that the development of closer relations between archives and legitimate holders of rights may form an effective link between the conservation and enhancement of the heritage making the existing, ever-growing market more cost-effective;

14. RECALLS:

- the interdisciplinary nature of the problems standing in the way of the conservation and appropriate use of cinema heritage, including the area of technical and scientific investigation (integration of the knowledge gained from traditional support media and application of new technologies), the absence of specialist vocational training, the scope for renewing structures or any obligations arising from copyright legislation,

- the transnational nature of the response demanded for the aforementioned problems, for reasons to do with the complexity and scale of such problems, the advantage of a comparison of legal systems in force and the fact that, by the very nature of the medium involved and archive history, existing museum collections frequently overlap, with every State having preserved basic film material produced in many other States;

15. NOTES that without prejudice to Member States' responsibilities in this area and in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, there is a need to consider the possibility of concerted European action to conserve and enhance this legacy and to bring it before a wider public in order to ensure the survival of what is an unparalleled record of Europan history. Against this background, account should be taken of the reality of countries applying for membership and also of work under way at the Council of Europe, thus avoiding any risk of duplication.

16. TO THAT END, calls on the Member States to cooperate in the following areas without prejudice to international intellectual property agreements:

(a) participating in a transnational study on the situation facing European cinema archives, including an analysis of the scientific problems of conservation and enhancement of support media, of vocational training needs and of questions relating to the intellectual propoerty law arising in connection with the use of cinematic works;

(b) the restoration and conservation of cinema heritage with a view to optimum use of the archives in these areas, including through recourse to digital technologies;

(c) stepping up the exchange of experiences, knowledge and good practice in this sector, with the collaboration of the relevant public and private bodies as well as professionals and experts in the field by stimulating cooperation between them, including within the framework of the development of European guidelines to be decided upon on cinematic restoration;

(d) the encouragement of progressive networking of European archival data bases, and collections of preserved duplicates, made by the archives, while improving their accessibility. Such actions would be organised by the archives in conjunction with the holders of respective rights, including the most significant works of each individual country in the various genres;

(e) the possible use of these collections for educational and scientific purposes and for purposes specific to archives.

17. CALLS ON the Commission, in the exercise of its powers and in particular as laid down in Article 151(4) of the Treaty, to:

- take account of the specific needs of this particular form of cultural legacy,

- make use of the opportunities provided by existing Community action and programmes,

- support and encourage the study mentioned under 16(a) by means of the relevant Community instruments, and in compliance with the procedures which they specify, and draw the necessary conclusions as regards follow-up.

(1) OJ C 8, 12.1.2000, p. 10.