Proposal for a Council Decision on the implementation of a training programme for professionals in the European audiovisual programme industry (MEDIA II - Training) (1996 to 2000)

(95/C 108/04)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(94) 523 final - 95/0026(SYN)

(Submitted by the Commission on 28 February 1995)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 127 (4) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189c of the Treaty,

Whereas the Heads of State or Government, meeting as the European Council in Brussels on 10 and 11 December 1993, adopted the White Paper on Growth, competitiveness and employment as the basis for action by the European Union and its Member States, supporting an industrial development approach based on global competitiveness as the key to growth and jobs; whereas the White Paper, and in particular Chapter 7 thereof states the need to adapt vocational skills in line with industrial and technological developments;

Whereas the Heads of State or Government, meeting as the European Council in Corfu on 24 and 25 June 1994, took note of the report by the Bangemann Group entitled 'Europe and the global information society - Recommendations to the European Council`, in particular acknowledging the strategic importance of the audiovisual programme industry in terms of content;

Whereas Article 128 (4) of the Treaty requires the Community to take cultural aspects into account in its action under other provisions of the Treaty; whereas participation in the programme should reflect European cultural diversity;

Whereas the Council, at its joint industry/telecommunications meeting of 28 September 1994, issued a favourable opinion on the Commission communication of 19 July 1994 entitled 'Europe's way to the information society: an action plan` (1) and emphasized the need to improve the competitiveness of the European audiovisual industry;

Whereas the Council took formal note of the Commission communication of 1 September 1994 entitled 'An industrial competitiveness policy for the European Union` (2) which identified 'the close correlation between the development prospects of individual technologies and products . . . of the programmes (. . . audiovisual programmes, etc.) and of the associated services and networks` and the need to raise training standards in order to make European industry competitive;

Whereas the Council took formal note on 17 June 1994 of the Green Paper 'Strategy options to strengthen the European programme industry in the context of the audiovisual policy of the European Union` (3);

Whereas the Commission consulted the people in the industry on the options put forward in the Green Paper, in particular by holding the 'European Audiovisual Conference` in Brussels from 30 June to 2 July 1994;

Whereas the European Parliament, in its resolution of 6 May 1994 (4), examined the problems of the audiovisual industry, following Council Directive 89/552/EEC (5) (the 'Television without frontiers` Directive), in preparation for the European audiovisual conference, and took the view that the priorities established inter alia during the discussions on amendments to the Media programme, namely the financing mechanisms, pre-production, distribution and training, were the best means of establishing coherent, stable European networks;

Whereas the Economic and Social Committee issued its opinion (1) on the Green Paper on strategic options to strengthen the European programme industry, stating that European-level programmes such as Media could have a positive influence on the development of programme structures and means of production in Europe;

Whereas the Commission implemented the programme of measures to encourage the development of the European audiovisual industry (Media 1991 to 1995), adopted by Council Decision 90/685/EEC (2), including training measures to upgrade the vocational skills of people working in the audiovisual programme industry;

Whereas the Council, at its meeting of 5 November 1993, after taking note of the Commission communication of 23 July 1993 on the Media programme mid-term evaluation report, felt that it would be appropriate to examine suitable measures for launching a Media II programme after 1995;

Whereas the European Council in Essen on 9 and 10 December 1994 called on the Commission to present proposals for a new Media programme;

Whereas the Council, at its meeting of 6 December 1994, adopted Decision 94/819/EC (3) setting up the Leonardo da Vinci programme for implementation of a vocational training policy in the European Community, of which Article 8 (1) requires the Commission to see to it that the Leonardo da Vinci programme is coordinated with all the other Community training schemes;

Whereas there should be proper coordination with vocational training operations undertaken pursuant to the objectives of the Structural Funds;

Whereas the emergence of a European audiovisual market requires vocational skills adapted to the new dimension of the market, particularly as regards economic and commercial management of the industry and the utilization of new technology at all stages of programme design, development, production and transmission;

Whereas people in the industry must be provided with vocational skills that enable them to take full advantage of the European and worldwide dimension of the audiovisual programme market; whereas they should be encouraged to devise projects that meet the demands of that market;

Whereas the initial training of future audiovisual professionals should incorporate the right economic and technological components; whereas the speed of change in these areas necessitates continuous training;

Whereas networking between vocational training centres should be encouraged so as to facilitate the transfer of know-how and the development of training modules at European level;

Whereas support for vocational training should take account of structural objectives such as developing the independent production industry, in particular small and medium-sized businesses, and developing potential where audiovisual production capacity is low, such as in small countries or regions with less widely spoken languages;

Whereas operations in this programme are all aimed at cross-border cooperation which will enhance the value of action taken in the Member States or by those responsible for training, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

A training programme (hereinafter referred to as 'the programme`) is hereby established to run for five years from 1 January 1996, with the aim of supplementing the action taken by Member States and thereby providing professionals in the European audiovisual industry with the skills they need, particularly as regards economic and commercial management and use of new technologies, to exploit the European dimension of the market to the full.

Article 2

The aims of the programme are:

1. to meet the needs of the industry and bolster its competitiveness by contributing to the development of initial and continuous training of audiovisual professionals on the know-how and skills they need in order to take account of the European market in developing businesses and projects, in particular in the field of:

- economic and commercial management, including legal aspects,

- utilization and development of new technologies for the production of programmes with high value added;

2. to encourage cooperation and exchange of know-how between the parties involved in training, namely training establishments, the industry and businesses.

Article 3

The measures described in the Annex shall be put into effect in order to achieve the objectives laid down in Article 2. They shall be implemented in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 6.

Article 4

As a rule, recipients of Community support working on implementation of the measures laid down in Article 3 must provide a proportion of the funding. Community funding shall not exceed 75 % of the cost of operations.

Article 5

1. The Commission shall be responsible for implementation of the programme.

The Commission shall also be assisted by the Advisory Committee set up by Council Decision 95/. . ./EC of . . . 1995 a programme to promote the development and distribution of European audiovisual works (MEDIA II - Development and Distribution) (1996 to 2000).

2. The draft measures taken by the Commission and the procedure for consulting the Committee on that draft shall be the same as those laid down in Article 6 (2) and (3) of the Decision referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 6

Within the six months following the first three years of the programme's implementation, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee an evaluation report on the results achieved, with proposals if appropriate.

When the programme has run its full term, the Commission shall submit a report on the implementation and results of the programme to the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee.

(1) COM(94) 347 final, 19. 7. 1994.

(2) COM(94) 319 final, 14. 9. 1994.

(3) COM(94) 96 final, 6. 4. 1994.

(4) OJ No C 205, 25. 7. 1994, p. 561.

(5) OJ No L 298, 17. 10. 1989, p. 23.

(1) ESC 1000/94, 14. 9. 1994, p. 6.

(2) OJ No L 380, 31. 12. 1990, p. 37.

(3) OJ No L 340, 29. 12. 1994, p. 8.

ANNEX

1. ACTION TO BE TAKEN

The programme is intended to help people in the industry adapt to the European and worldwide dimension of the market by promoting training on economic and commercial management, legal aspects and new technologies.

The operations will cover both initial and continuing training.

1.1. Training on economic and commercial management

This aims to develop the ability of people in the industry to conceptualize and exploit the European dimension in development, production, distribution and broadcasting of audiovisual programmes.

The operations will cover the following:

- promoting the definition and updating of training modules on management to supplement national and regional initiatives by giving them a European angle (initial and continuing training);

- encouraging incorporation of the modules into existing syllabuses;

- networking of training programmes; facilitating exchanges of teachers and students/professionals by providing grants and organizing work-experience placements in companies in other Member States and contributing to teacher training.

1.2. Training on new technologies

This aims to develop the ability of people in the industry to use advanced creative techniques, such as computer graphics, multimedia and interactive technologies.

The operations will cover the following:

- promoting the definition and updating of training modules on new audiovisual technologies, to complement national and regional operations;

- encouraging incorporation of the modules into existing syllabuses;

- networking of training programmes; facilitating exchanges of teachers and students/professionals by providing grants and organizing work-experience placements in companies in other Member States and contributing to teacher training (initial and continuing training).

2. IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE

2.1. Approach

In implementing the programme the Commission will work closely with all parties concerned, such as training centres, professional associations and businesses. The Commission will see to it that there is a good geographical spread among the professionals participating in the programme and that Europe's cultural diversity is reflected.

2.2. Funding

Community funds are intended to encourage the national/regional parties concerned to supplement existing training courses with modules on management and new technologies.

Community outlay shall not exceed 75 % of the training costs. The remainder will be provided by the national/regional parties concerned, who will be selected by tender.

How much is allocated to management training and how much to training on new technologies will depend on the proposals submitted following the invitation to tender.

2.3. Implementation

In implementing the training programme the Commission will be assisted by a contractor capable of coordinating the performance of the tasks laid down in the action plan.

The contractor will be selected by invitation to tender.

The Commission will draw up terms and conditions for the contractor specifying how the tasks laid down in the action plan are to be implemented.

The contractor must be a general-interest non-profit-making body.

Selection will be based largely on the following criteria:

- professional experience in the training business, particularly economic and commercial management training and training on new technologies,

- contacts with the relevant parties at national, regional and European level,

- depth of familiarity with the European audiovisual industry and the Union's policy on it,

- experience of cross-border or European management,

- calibre of staff and soundness of management infrastructure.