Council Resolution of 21 January 2002 on the development of the audiovisual sector
Date: 2002-01-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU programme, European audiovisual area, aid system, audiovisual industry, audiovisual production, cultural policy

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3.

improve this administrative cooperation by using the possi-
bilities afforded by the development of police and judicial
cooperation in criminal matters.

initiatives, for example a work programme, in the context
of the Advisory Committee on cultural goods;

INVITES THE COMMISSION TO:

1. pursue the initiatives it has already launched to contribute
more effectively to the protection of the Member States’
cultural heritage and to the effective functioning of
the
mechanisms set up by Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 and
if necessary, other
by Directive 93/7/EEC and develop,

2. pay particular attention, in the framework of enlargement
negotiations, to the full application of Regulation (EEC) No
3911/92 and Directive 93/7/EEC when the candidate
countries accede, while ensuring the establishment of
administrative structures and capacities that can provide
the Union’s new external borders with the highest degree
of protection of the cultural heritage of the Member States.

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 21 January 2002

on the development of the audiovisual sector

(2002/C 32/04)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

1. RECALLING that the Community takes account of cultural
aspects in its action under the provisions of
the Treaty
in
establishing the European Community,
order to respect and promote the diversity of its cultures,

in particular

2. RECALLING the Protocol to the Treaty of Amsterdam, on the
system of public broadcasting in the Member States and the
Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the
Governments of
the Member States, meeting within the
Council of 25 January 1999, concerning public service
broadcasting (1),

3. RECALLING the conclusions of

the European Audiovisual
Conference organised in Birmingham from 6 to 8 April
1998 entitled (cid:145)Challenges and opportunities of the digital
age(cid:146), which showed the need for structural change to
international
make the audiovisual sector competitive at
level by means of complementary European and national
policies,

in particular the fact

4. RECALLING the Council conclusions of 27 September 1999
concerning the results of the public consultation on the
Convergence Green Paper,
that a
general message with regard to the role of regulation was
the affirmation of the continuing need to meet a range of
public interest objectives (such as the protection of minors
and human dignity, cultural and linguistic diversity and
pluralism) whilst
to promote
recognising
investment, in particular in new audiovisual services,

the need

5. RECALLING that the mandate given to the Commission at
the Council meeting on 26 October 1999 stipulates that
during the forthcoming WTO negotiations the Union will

ensure, as in the Uruguay Round, that the Community and
its Member States maintain the possibility to preserve and
develop their capacity to define and implement
their
cultural and audiovisual policies
the purpose of
preserving their cultural diversity,

for

6. RECALLING the importance of the e-Europe initiative and the
the Special European Council meeting in

conclusions of
Lisbon on 23 and 24 March 2000,

on

for

and

guidelines

(cid:145)principles

7. RECALLING the conclusions of the Council and the represen-
tatives of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of
26 June 2000 concerning the communication from the
the
Commission
Community’s audiovisual policy in the digital age(cid:146) (2),
in
particularly in so far as they (cid:145)stress, once again, the key
importance of European content and, as a consequence,
the need to uphold and foster support measures, while
bearing in mind the need to promote complementarity
and synergy between national and Community measures
as well as the need to safeguard cultural diversity(cid:146); and in
so far as they invite the Commission (cid:145)to identify and
promote measures to enhance the competitiveness of the
European content industry in the digital age, while inter
alia promoting synergy between the relevant Community
instruments(cid:146),

8. RECALLING the Council Resolution of 12 February 2001 on

national aid to the film and audiovisual industries (3),

9. RECALLING the wish expressed at the meeting of experts in
Mons on 5 and 6 October 2001 to see the European audio-
visual sector occupy a significant place in the world audio-
visual area,

(1) OJ C 30, 5.2.1999, p. 1.

(2) OJ C 196, 12.7.2000, p. 1.
(3) OJ C 73, 6.3.2001, p. 3.

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HEREBY REAFFIRMS:

(a) that

the audiovisual

sector essentially has a cultural
dimension and constitutes not only an expression of
identities, and a fundamental
creativity, particularly of
means of promoting democracy, but also an economic
activity of growing importance; that, in the context of tech-
nological development, this sector is still destined to evolve,
both quantitatively and qualitatively;

(b) the need for the European Community and the Member
States to encourage, with due regard for cultural and
linguistic diversity, the creation of conditions permitting
the establishment of a competitive audiovisual sector, inter
alia by improved circulation of European works;

(c)

the need to develop, at both national and Community level,
investment in the field of cinematographic and audiovisual
production.

NOTES, however, that in Europe the audiovisual sector is char-
acterised from the cultural viewpoint by diversity and from the
economic viewpoint by the fragmentation of
the internal
market;

STRESSES, consequently, that it would be advisable for these
exceptional characteristics to be taken into account when
implementing
consideration
essentially to the cultural dimension, but also to competition
policy and the industrial activity necessary for the development
of the audiovisual sector;

Community

action,

giving

the

public

importance

and
of
STRESSES
encourages it to continue making its significant contribution
to promoting the audiovisual sector, amongst other things by
taking an active part in the development of new digital services
which afford all citizens easier access to the information
society;

broadcasting

WELCOMES:

(a) audiovisual actions, measures and programmes developed
the Media Plus

in particular

by the European Union,
programme;

(b) the adoption by the Commission of a communication on
certain legal aspects relating to cinematographic and other
audiovisual works, which sets out a series of
initiatives
improving both the competitiveness and the
aimed at
the sector, and which clarify the
cultural diversity of
application of competition rules to aid granted by the
for
national,
supporting
regional and local authorities
audiovisual production and distribution,
thus improving
legal certainty for Member States and undertakings;

(c)

the Commission’s timetable for action as stipulated in the
communication on certain legal aspects relating to cinema-
tographic and other audiovisual works of 26 September
2001;

(d) the new initiatives taken by the Commission and by the
European Investment Bank with a view to establishing new
financial and banking instruments for the purpose of the
audiovisual sector in the framework of (cid:145)Audiovisual i2i(cid:146);

(e)

the Commission’s intention, set out in its communication,
to conduct a study on the identification and evaluation of
financial flows within the European cinema industry so as
to evaluate the key factors determining the economic
characteristics of the audiovisual industry.

INVITES the Commission and the Member States, within their
respective spheres of legal and financial competence:

(a) to study measures, in the cinematographic and audiovisual
field, to facilitate complementarity between the financial
resources provided by:

(i) the Community and other European financial

insti-

tutions;

(ii) the private sector;

(iii) Member States;

(iv) local and regional bodies;

(b) to examine the potential for cooperation that would permit
formulation of

the exchange of knowledge and the
long-term strategies for the audiovisual sector;

(c)

to encourage:

(i) the development of banking and financial instruments

and their increased use,

(ii) improvement of mutual knowledge and of expertise in

the audiovisual and banking sectors;

(iii) the audiovisual

sector

to continue its promotion

activities in the banking and financial sectors;

(iv) an analysis of the impact of tax regimes on the devel-

opment of the audiovisual sector;

(d) to pursue their multilateral dialogue on relevant

issues
relating to State aid for cinematographic and television
production.

INVITES the Commission:

(a) to continue and to make more effective its contribution to
the audiovisual sector based on an
the cultural, competitive and

the development of
approach that
industrial dimensions of the sector;

integrates

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(b) to consider the importance and the role of government aid
(cid:151) which can contribute to the emergence of a European
audiovisual market and to the development of its industrial
fabric (cid:151) and to take any initiative which might enable
Member States to choose, provide for and implement
systems of aid to the sector in accordance with the rules
of the Treaty;

(c)

to promote discussions between the professionals and the
authorities responsible for the protection of the audiovisual
heritage
audiovisual works,
classification of
whatever their medium;

and the

(d) to study the best ways of giving the European audiovisual
sector a more important place at world level while
respecting cultural diversity.

INVITES the Member States:

(1) to cooperate with the Commission and the professionals in
order to draw up an inventory, within the Member States,
of existing measures with regard to the deposit, recording
and classification of audiovisual works and to develop
means of cooperating and exchanging experience;

(2) to examine the possibility of ratifying as soon as possible
the Council of Europe Convention on the protection of the
audiovisual heritage;

(3) to pay special attention to the fact that financial incentives,
audiovisual production and
specifically designed for
co-production, where
exist, would particularly
benefit works of real interest to the European audiovisual
sector.

they