22.5.85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 125/13 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on a Community aid scheme for non-documentary 
cinema and television co-productions 
COM(85) 174 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 23 April 1985) 
(85/C 125/09) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas economic, social and cultural considerations 
require that the Community should have a healthy audio­
visual industry; 
Whereas demand from the audiovisual media for non-
documentary programmes is already on the increase and 
is likely to increase even further; whereas the oppor­
tunities created by the expansion of the audiovisual 
media can best be exploited by promoting and 
developing the European programme industry to make it 
stronger and more competitive; 
Whereas a first step in this process would be to increase 
the number of mass-audience cinema and television co-
productions involving nationals of more than one 
Member-State, including Member States whose audio­
visual output is comparatively small; 
Whereas the financing of international co-productions is 
a high-risk undertaking which may be beyond the 
capacity of the partners involved; criteria should be given Community aid to supplement 
national contributions; 
Whereas such aid is necessary to attain a number of 
Community objectives in the context of the operation of 
the common market; whereas the Treaty has not 
provided the necessary powers; 
Whereas Community aid should not be such as to affect 
its compatibility with the EEC Treaty rules on 
competition, the free movement of workers or freedom 
to provide services, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
A Community aid system for non-documentary cinema 
and television co-productions is hereby established. 
Aid shall be directed to the promotion and development 
of the European audiovisual programme industry to 
enable it to meet the growing demand for material 
attractive to a mass audience. 
One of the objectives of the aid scheme shall be to foster 
co-productions involving partners from Community 
countries whose output of cinema and/or television 
productions is small in comparison to that of other 
Community countries. 
Article 2 
The following shall be eligible for aid: 
— natural or legal persons subject to the public or 
private law of a Member State of the Community 
and engaged in the production of cinema films 
and/or television programmes; 
Whereas since co-productions are an effective element of 
a more positive trend, those meeting various specific — cinema or television directors who are nationals of a 
Member State of the Community. 
No C 125/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 22.5.85 
Article 3 
1. Only co-productions involving at least three 
partners from different Member States of the 
Community shall qualify for aid. 
2. A co-production shall not qualify for aid unless 
arrangements for its production comply with the Treaty 
rules on competition. 
3. The co-production partners shall designate one of 
their number to assume responsibility for administration 
of the aid and its repayment in accordance with the 
provisions of Articles 6 and 7. 
The Community, represented by the Commission, shall 
conclude with the person so designated a contract jointly 
and severally binding all the co-production partners, 
hereinafter referred to as 'contract beneficiaries'. 
4. The contribution of each co-production partner, 
from public or private sources, shall not be less than 
10 % or more than 60 % of the co-production costs. 
5. Community co-production partners may enter into 
association with one or more co-production partners 
who are nationals of non-member countries. 
6. The total contribution put up by co-production 
partners who are nationals of non-member countries 
shall not exceed 20 °/o of the co-production costs. 
Article 4 
1. Applicants for aid shall apply to the Commission. 
2. They shall produce evidence that distribution or 
broadcasting of the co-production in respect of which 
the application is made is guaranteed at least in the 
countries of which they are nationals. 
3. Such evidence shall take the form of legally binding 
undertakings by film distributors or television companies 
to distribute or broadcast the co-produced material. 
Broadcasting guarantees may relate both to public 
television companies and to private, nationally-auth­
orized television companies. 
4. The Commission shall define procedures for filing 
aid applications and shall specify the nature and form of 
the documentary evidence to be included in the 
application papers. 
Article 5 
1. Aid shall be allocated in two parts, one for the 
production and the other for the distribution or broad­
casting of the co-produced material. 2. The production aid shall range from 10 % to 25 % 
of the co-production costs. 
3. The distribution or broadcasting aid shall be 
determined case by case having regard to the nature of 
the co-produced material. 
It shall contribute to the cost of making copies, subtitling 
and/or dubbing, and of various forms of promotion, as 
indicated in the aid application. 
It shall not, however, exceed 50 % of those costs. 
Article 6 
1. In the case of co-productions primarily intended 
for the cinema and those made for television by co-
production partners which do not broadcast the co-
produced material, aid shall take the form of an advance 
on earnings. 
2. The earnings of co-productions primarily intended 
for the cinema shall comprise, in the first place, the 
percentage of box-office earnings taken by the co-
production partners (the 'producers' percentages'), and 
secondly, the proceeds of sales to television companies 
and the video industry. 
The earnings of the television co-productions referred to 
in paragraph 1 shall comprise the proceeds of sales to 
television companies and the video industry together 
with the percentage of any cinema box-office earnings 
taken by the co-production partners. 
3. The advance shall be repayable to the Community 
and shall bear interest. 
The rate of interest and the terms of repayment shall be 
laid down in a Commission Regulation. 
Article 7 
1. In the case of television co-productions to be 
broadcast by the co-production partners, aid shall take 
the form of an interest-free loan. 
2. The loan shall be repayable to the Community. 
3. The proportion of the loan corresponding to 
broadcasting by each co-production partner shall be 
repaid one year after the co-produced material is 
broadcast by that partner. 
However, the Commission may authorize repayment 
over a period of from two to five years. 
22.5.85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 125/15 
4. Sales of the co-produced material to the video 
industry and to television companies not involved in its 
production, together with any cinema box-office 
earnings accruing to the co-production partners, shall 
give rise to repayment with interest of a proportion of 
the loan. 
This proportion of the loan shall be regarded as an 
advance on earnings to which the provisions of Article 6 
(3) shall apply. 
Article 8 
The Commission shall grant advances on earnings and 
interest-free loans to projects in line with selection 
criteria which it shall establish and after consulting the 
multinational expert group set up under Article 9. 
Article 9 
1. A multinational expert group is hereby established. 
2. It shall comprise two full members and two 
deputies representing each of the following: scriptwriters, 
directors, producers, distributors, cinema operators and 
television programme executives. 
3. The Commission shall appoint the members of the 
group from a list submitted by unions or professional 
organizations which are representative at Community 
level. 
The list shall contain three times as many names as there 
are full members and deputies to be appointed. 
4. In appointing members of the group the 
Commission shall ensure that at least one national of 
each Member State of the Community may attend its 
meetings. 
5. Members of the group shall be appointed for three 
years. The appointment may be renewed. 
Article 10 
The Commission shall monitor performance of each 
contract. Contract beneficiaries shall notify the Commission 
immediately in writing of any important fact relating to 
performance of the contract. They shall submit progress 
reports periodically. They shall comply with all requests 
for information or inspection at the place of per­
formance, in accordance with the terms of the contract. 
Article 11 
The Commission may cancel a contract where one of the 
contract beneficiaries fails to implement all or part of its 
provisions or has intentionally or negligently supplied 
false information in applying for aid or where one of the 
contract beneficiaries has failed to comply with the terms 
of the contract regarding utilization of the aid, co-
production schedules, submission of reports or 
supervision. In this event the balance of the sum 
repayable shall fall due immediately, without prejudice to 
possible legal action for the recovery of demages. 
Where a contract beneficiary has intentionally supplied 
false information either in applying for aid or in per­
formance of the contract, and has thereby obtained aid 
in excess of the appropriate sum, the Commission may 
choose not to exercise its right to cancel the contract, 
but may demand repayment of the sum wrongly obtained 
together with interest at the market rate. 
Article 12 
Appropriations to finance the aid scheme shall be entered 
on the expenditure side of the general budget of the 
European Communities each year. 
Scheduled repayments shall be entered on the revenue 
side of that budget. 
Article 13 
The Commission shall report annually to Parliament and 
the Council on the implementation of this Regulation. 
Article 14 
Contracts shall stipulate that the Court of Justice of the 
European Communities has jurisdiction in the event of 
disputes between the contracting parties in connection 
with the said contracts. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States.