COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Ninth Communication on the application of Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 89/552/EEC, as amended by Directive 97/36/EC and Directive 2007/65/EC for the period 2007-2008  (Promotion of European and independent audiovisual works)
Date: 2010-09-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European television, application of EU law, audiovisual production, broadcasting, programmes industry, report

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 23.9.2010 
COM(2010) 450 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Ninth Communication on the application of Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 89/552/EEC, as 
amended by Directive 97/36/EC and Directive 2007/65/EC for the period 2007-2008 

(Promotion of European and independent audiovisual works) 

SEC(2010) 995 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Ninth Communication on the application of Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 89/552/EEC, as 
amended by Directive 97/36/EC and Directive 2007/65/EC for the period 2007-2008 

(Promotion of European and independent audiovisual works) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This Communication is drawn up pursuant to Article 4(3) of Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 
3  October  1989  on  the  coordination  of  certain  provisions  laid  down  by  law,  regulation  or 
administrative  action  in  Member  States  concerning  the  pursuit  of  television  broadcasting 
activities1(‘Television without Frontiers Directive’), as amended by Directive 97/36/EC of the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 19972 and by Directive 2007/65/EC of the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11.12.2007  (  ‘Audiovisual  Media  Services’)3, 
(hereinafter  referred  to  as  ‘the  Directive’)4.  Through  this  Communication,  the  Commission 
reports, for the ninth time since the adoption of the Directive, on the application of Articles 4 
and  5  for  the  period  2007-2008.  The  Communication  is  based  on  the  Member  States’ 
statistical  statements  on  the  achievement  of  the  proportions  referred  to  in  these  Articles  by 
each  of  the  television  programmes  falling  within  their  jurisdiction  and  presents  the 
Commission’s opinion on the application of these provisions, including the main conclusions 
to be drawn from the Member States’ reports. 

The purpose of this biennial reporting exercise is twofold. Firstly, pursuant to Article 4(3) of 
the  Directive,  the  Communication  brings  the  statistical  statements  by  the  Member  States  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  other  Member  States,  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the 
European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions.  Secondly,  it 
aims to verify whether the measures adopted by the Member States with a view to promoting 
European works and independent productions have been properly applied. 

For  this  reporting  exercise,  the  Commission  provided  all  the  Member  States  with  a  pre-
defined list of channels extracted from the MAVISE data base5 of the European Audiovisual 
Observatory.  The  purpose  was  to  use  a  uniform  basis  to  increase  the  consistency  and 
comparability  of  the  statistical  data  provided  by  the  Member  States.  In  accordance  with  the 
provisions of the Directive, local channels were removed from the list since they are excluded 
from the scope of Articles 4 and 5 (pursuant to Article 9) as well as channels which do not 
broadcast  in  an  EU  language  (Recital  29  of  Directive  97/36/EC)  and  channels  which 
broadcast exclusively for reception outside the EU and cannot be received in the EU (Article 

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OJ L 298, 17.10.1989. 
OJ L 202, 30.07.1997. 
OJ L 332, 18.12.2007. 
These three directives were codified as Directive 2010/13/EU after the end of the transposition period 
of Directive 2007/65/EC. The codification has involved renumbering of the Articles. Articles 16 and 17 
now replace former Articles 4 and 5, although their substance remains unchanged. 
http://mavise.obs.coe.int/. 

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2  (6)).  As  had  already  been  the  case  for  the  previous  report,  all  channels  falling  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  a  given  Member  State  had  to  be  considered  independently  of  their  audience 
share.  Additional  details  can  be  found  in  the  background  documents  included  in  the 
Commission Staff Working Document accompanying this Communication. 

For  the  first  time,  Bulgaria  and  Romania,  which  joined  the  EU  on  1  January  2007  and 
provided  statistical  data  on  a  voluntary  basis  for  the  2005-2006  period,  fulfilled  their 
obligation to report on the application of Articles 4 and 5 during the 2007-2008 period. It is 
thus  the  first  time  that  this  Communication  includes  the  compulsory  reports  of  all  27  EU 
Member States. 

2. 

COMMISSION’S OPINION ON THE APPLICATION OF ARTICLES 4 AND 5 

2.1. 

General remarks 

2.1.1.  Articles 4 and 5 in the context of the European audiovisual landscape 

During  the  period  under  review,  the  European  audiovisual  landscape  followed  the  upward 
trend already registered in the 2005-2006 period. The number of broadcasters and channels is 
rising every year, in particular as a result of the switchover to digital technology that favours 
the  emergence  of  new  platforms  and  a  large  number  of  specialised  ‘niche’  channels.  This 
phenomenon has led to an increasing fragmentation of the audience share, already underlined 
in the eighth Communication6. According to the data provided by the European Audiovisual 
Observatory, the number of channels in the EU-27 rose from 5,151 channels in 2006 to 6,067 
channels  in  2008,  representing  a  17.8 %  rate  of  increase.  The  number  of  channels  with  a 
national coverage increased from 1967 in 2006 to 2702 in 2008, representing a 37.36 % rate 
of increase. 

During the same period, the increase recorded in the total number of channels covered7 by the 
reports  of  the  Member  States  exceeded  the  rise  registered  on  the  market:  their  number  rose 
from 1,107 channels in 2006 (EU-278) to 1,590 in 2007 and 1,679 in 2008. The 2008 figure 
therefore represents a 51.6 % increase in comparison with 2006.  

This difference between the increase rate registered on the market and the increase rate of the 
number  of  covered  channels  may  be  attributed  to  the  use  of  a  pre-defined  list  of  channels, 
which  constitutes  a  more  comprehensive  working  base  than  the  one  used  in  the  previous 
reference periods. 

2.1.2.  Methods of implementation and monitoring by the Member States 

Monitoring methodology is not harmonised and varies substantially from one Member State 
to  another.  As  was  already  the  case  for  previous  reports,  in  most  of  the  Member  States  the 
broadcasters supply data to the competent authorities. In some of  them  the  collected  data  is 
analysed  by  the  national  authorities  or  private  research  companies.  In  one  case,  the  data 

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http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/reg/tvwf/implementation/promotion/index_en.htm. 
For the definition of ‘covered’ channels see Indicator 1 in Annex 1 — Staff Working Document: total 
number of channels identified minus the number of non-operational channels and the number of exempt 
channels (due to the nature of their programmes) or excluded channels (due to legal exceptions). 
For comparability purposes, the data communicated by Bulgaria and Romania on a voluntary basis for 
2005 and 2006 have been taken into account to calculate the total number of channels in both years. 

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comes  from  the  monitoring  of  daily  programming  via  the  competent  authority’s  database. 
Methods may also vary according to the type of broadcasters concerned (public broadcasters 
or commercial ones). The monitoring is carried out either on a sampling basis or on the basis 
of total transmission time. In one country9 the collection of statistical data has been restricted 
to  channels  transmitting  via  terrestrial  means,  because  the  legislation  does  not  enable  the 
national authorities to request the data from other categories of channel. 

It  is  worth  noting  that  in  2008  one  national  authority  (in  Portugal)  improved  its  monitoring 
method  by  abandoning  samples  and  taking  into  account  the  total  amount  of  broadcasting 
throughout the year in order to assess the performance of channels. 

The  use  of  a  pre-defined  list  for  this  reporting  exercise  meant  that  clarifications  were 
necessary in almost all Member States following the removal of a number of channels from 
the  list  by  the  national  authorities.  The  treatment  to  be  given  to  the  different  categories  of 
channels was indicated, in accordance with the Commission Guidelines for the monitoring of 
the  implementation  of  Articles  4  and  5  of  the  Directive.10  In  two  specific  cases11  the 
Commission  reiterated  officially  that  the  reporting  obligation  under  Article  4(3)  of  the 
Directive applies to ‘each of the television programmes’ falling within the jurisdiction of the 
Member States concerned, except in those cases expressly mentioned in Article 4(1).12  

Overall, the number of national reports containing data for all channels covered has slightly 
decreased:  12  reports  out  of  2513  provide  statistical  data  concerning  European  works  for  all 
channels covered in 2007 and 11 in 200814, compared to 14 reports out of 25 in the previous 
reference  period.  More  significant  is  the  increase  in  the  number  of  channels  for  which  data 
was not communicated in those Member States which failed to provide all the data. According 
to  the  eighth  Communication,  data  on  European  works  were  not  communicated  for  13 
channels  in  the  Czech  Republic  in  2005  and  for  10  channels  in  Italy  in  2006.  During  the 
reference period, data on European works was missing for 97 channels in Italy in 2007 (83 in 
2008), 47 in Germany in 2007 and 2008, and 34 in France in 2007 (35 in 2008). This trend 
may be due to the emergence of a high number of small channels on the market, making data 
gathering more difficult, but also to the use of a pre-defined list of channels.  

Other  elements  of  divergence  can  be  identified  in  the  application  of  Articles  4  and  5  of  the 
Directive  in  the  Member  States.  As  already  stressed  in  the  eighth  Communication,  the 

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See Annex 3 p.120 (Cyprus). The legislative situation is due to change in the coming months. 
See http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/docs/reg/tvwf/eu_works/controle45_en.pdf. 
Only local (sub-regional) channels are excluded from the scope of Articles 4 and 5, as well as channels 
broadcasting in a non-EU language and those intended for broadcast outside the EU and which cannot 
be received in the EU. 
The Commission sent letters to Germany and Portugal concerning the need to apply Articles 4 and 5 to 
regional  channels  and  cinema  channels  respectively,  as  these  had  been  considered  exempt  by  the 
national authorities On receipt of the Commission’s letter, Portugal has already submitted data relating 
to  cinema  channels  for  2008  and  Germany  has  undertaken  to  collect  the  statistical  data  from  the 
regional channels for the next reporting period. 
Only  channels  exclusively  broadcasting  news,  sports  events,  games,  advertising,  teleshopping  and 
teletext services are exempt from the obligation to apply Articles 4 and 5. 
In  this  case  EU-25  has  been  taken  into  account  for  the  period  2007-2008  so  that  the  data  can  be 
compared with the data of the previous reference period. At any rate, the figures are the same for the 
period 2007-2008 in EU-27. 
This  is  the  case  for  Estonia, Ireland,  Greece,  Cyprus,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg, Malta,  Austria, 
Poland, Finland and the UK. The UK has provided data for all the 396 channels covered in 2007 and on 
all but two in 2008. 

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minimum  proportion  of  independent  works  to  be  achieved  pursuant  to  Article  5  of  the 
Directive  can  either  relate  to  the  channels’  transmission  time  or  to  their  programming 
budget15.  The  calculation  basis  may  also  be  different  depending  on  the  type  of  channel16. 
Furthermore,  a  number  of  Member  States  have  established  more  detailed  or  stricter  rules 
(either  for  all  broadcasters  or  for  public  service  ones  only),  exercising  the  possibility 
explicitly set out in Article 3(1) of the Directive. 

The margin of flexibility permitted by the Directive for its implementation makes it difficult 
to measure national data in a totally comparable way. Nonetheless, on the basis of the findings 
presented  in  this  Communication,  the  Commission  can  draw  reliable  conclusions  from  the 
national reports on the application of Articles 4 and 5 at EU level.  

2.1.3.  Analysis and assessment tools 

Pursuant  to  Article  4(3)  of  the  Directive,  the  Commission  shall  ensure  the  application  of 
Articles 4 and 5 in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty. In order to help the Member 
States fulfil their monitoring and reporting obligations, a document containing guidelines has 
been drawn up17. This document defines a number of terms and clarifies certain concepts. In 
addition, a number of indicators18 have been defined to provide an objective analysis tool for 
assessing the statistical data provided by the Member States. 

2.1.4.  Application of Article 4 

This  section  provides  an  analysis  of  compliance  with  the  obligation  to  broadcast,  where 
practicable and by appropriate means, a majority of European works as set out in Article 4 of 
the Directive. 

The EU average transmission time dedicated to European works by all reported channels in 
all EU-27 Member States was 62.64 % in 2007 and 63.21 % in 2008, representing a 0.57 point 
increase  over  the  reference  period19.  While  the  last  reporting  period  registered  an  upward 
trend, in 2008 the proportion of transmission time reserved for European works slipped back 
to the same level as in 2005 with a 63.21 % average. The mid-term evolution (200420-2008) 
presents a relatively stable trend, with a very slight -0.12 point decrease between the average 
achieved in 2004 (63.52 %) and that achieved in 2008 (63.40 %). 

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France and Italy already announced in the previous reference period that they had opted for the second 
possibility. See Eighth Communication. 
This is the case in France for digital terrestrial channels. The percentage is calculated on the previous 
year’s  turnover,  which  represents  a  higher  assessment  basis  than  the  one  set  by  the  Directive.  In  the 
Staff  Working  Document  accompanying  the  eighth  Communication,  the  Commission  had  already 
invited France to submit their data in a way that accurately reflects French channels' compliance with 
Article 5 of the Directive. 
See footnote 10 above. 
See Annex 1, Staff Working Document. 
The  figures  provided  at  EU-level  result  from  the  mathematical  average  of  all  national  averages 
calculated  on  the  basis  the  statistical  data  communicated  by  the  Member  States.  They  have  not  been 
weighted, since not all the parameters necessary for a correct weighting are available for all channels. 
2004 is the first year in which the data (EU-25) can be compared with those of the period 2007-2008. 
For comparability purposes, the average given for 2008 is calculated for EU-25 (without Bulgaria and 
Romania). 

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When  considering  the  three  different  groups  of  Member  States21,  the  findings  are  the 
following: the overall averages reported by the 15 Member States represent an upward trend 
over  the  4-year  period  (64.19 %  in  2008  compared  to  63.10 %  in  2005  representing  a  1.09 
point increase), while the averages recorded by the EU-10 presented a -2.04 points decrease 
over  the  same  period  (62.11 %  in  2008  against  64.15 %  in  2005).  The  two  Member  States 
which  joined  the  EU  in  2007  (Bulgaria  and  Romania)  posted  an  increase  in  the  European 
works average compared to the previous period: 61.40 % in 2008 against 59.40 % in 2005 (2 
points). Considering their recent accession to the EU, their performance is commendable and 
confirms  that  their  full  integration  into  the  Directive's  regime  has  been  problem-free  as 
regards  the  promotion  of  European  works.  Therefore,  throughout  the  period  2005-2008,  the 
overall figures have remained relatively stable, and well above the 50 %-threshold required by 
Article 4. 

Looking  at  the  Member  State  level  during  the  reference  period,  the  average  share  of 
transmission time reserved for European works varied between 27.90 % (Cyprus) and 85.00 % 
(Poland) in 2007 and between 30.00 % (Cyprus) and 83.11 % (Poland) in 2008. In terms of the 
increase in the average share of transmission time over the same period, the trend was positive 
in  14  Member  States,  negative  in  11  and  remained  stable  in  two.  In  the  medium  term, 
comparing  the  2008  results  with  those  of  2005,  16  Member  States  showed  an  increase, 
although relatively modest in most cases (equal or inferior to 5 % in 11 Member States). On 
the  other  hand,  11  Member  States  registered  a  decrease  (of  less  than  10 %  in  8  Member 
States).  Trends  in  transmission  time  dedicated  to  European  works  over  the  4-year  period 
(2005-2008) are reproduced in charts that have been drawn up for each Member State22. 

Compliance rates for all channels covered at Member State level ranged from 12.5 % (Cyprus) 
to 100 % (Estonia) in both 2007 and 2008. Within the reference period, compliance rates rose 
in 12 Member States, remained unchanged in nine and decreased in six. It is worth pointing 
out  that  compliance  rates  do  not  merely  reflect  the  channels'  achievement,  or  lack  of 
achievement,  of  the  European  works  proportions  set  out  in  Article  4,  but  also  the  level  of 
communicated/non-communicated data23.  

Three  Member  States24  encountered  difficulties  in  reaching  the  required  proportion  of 
European works over the whole reference period, although in all three cases the worst results 
were recorded in 2007 and were followed by some improvements in 2008, albeit very slight in 
two  cases.  Two25  of  them  had  already  failed  to  reach  the  required  proportion  of  European 
works in one of the two years of the previous reference period. The Commission encourages 
the  Member  States  concerned  to  support  the  efforts  of  the  channels  falling  within  their 
jurisdiction  to  improve  their  performance  and  achieve  a  continued  upturn  over  the  coming 
years.  

These  results  show  that  overall  performance  has  remained  relatively  stable  during  the 
reference period, as compared with the previous one, reflecting a generally sound application 

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EU-15  (original  Member  States),  EU-10  (Member  States  which  joined  the  EU  in  2004)  and  the  two 
most recent Member States (Bulgaria and Romania) which joined the EU in 2007. 
See  charts  included  in  point  2  of  Staff  Working  Document:  Application  of  Articles  4  and  5:  detailed 
analysis. 
See Annex 1 — Indicator 3 — Staff Working Document. 
Cyprus (27.9 % transmission time devoted to European works in 2007, 30 % in 2008), Sweden (45.1 % 
transmission  time  devoted  to  European  works  in  2007,  45.5 %  in  2008)  and  Slovenia  (34.1 % 
transmission time devoted to European works in 2007, 44.6 % in 2008). 
Slovenia in 2005 and Sweden in 2006. 

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of Article 4 throughout the EU. It is true that a downward trend was detected in the EU-10 
during  the  period  2007-2008,  which  may  be  partially  explained  by  the  high  number  of 
recently created specialised channels, with a low audience rate, which may need a period of 
adaptation before reaching the required proportions of European works. Nonetheless, Member 
States are invited to monitor closely the achievements of all the channels falling within their 
jurisdiction and encourage all of them to attain the proportion of European works set out in 
Article 4. 

2.1.5.  Application of Article 5 

The second part of this Communication presents the results achieved at European level with 
respect  to  the  proportion  of  European  works  made  by  independent  producers  (independent 
productions) set out in Article 5 of the Directive. 

The  EU-average  proportion  reserved  for  independent  productions  broadcast  by  all  reported 
channels in all Member States was 35.26% in 2007 and 34.90 % in 2008, representing a -0.36 
point decrease over the reference period. This slight decrease follows an upward trend that has 
been registered since 2003. When considering the four-year period 2005-200826, the averages 
achieved  in  2008  represent  a  -0.83  point  decrease  in  relation  to  those  achieved  in  2005. 
Member  States  should  therefore  encourage  broadcasters  falling  within  their  jurisdiction  to 
increase  their  transmission  time  of  independent  productions  in  order  to  reach,  at  least,  the 
level attained in the previous reference period.  

During  the  period  2007-2008,  13  Member  States  registered  a  positive  development  and  14 
Member  States  a  negative  one.  During  the  reference  period  all  Member  States  attained  the 
10 %  threshold  of  independent  productions.  In  the  previous  reference  period27one  had  not 
attained  this  threshold.  In  the  4-year  period  from  2005  to  2008,  eight  Member  States 
registered increases ranging from 1.40 point (UK) to 32.20 points (Cyprus). In all, 19 Member 
States presented a decrease compared to 2005, ranging from -0.20 point (Portugal) to -16.80 
points  (Sweden).  In  relation  to  the  2005  figures,  the  proportion  of  independent  productions 
registered in 2008 represented a decrease of -4.36 points for the EU-15, an increase of 4.56 
points for the EU-10 and a decrease of -1.35 points for the two most recent Member States. 
The average registered by the EU-10 in 2008 (35.10%) is not far off the level achieved by the 
EU-15 during the same year (36.02 %).  

The EU-average compliance rate for channels in all Member States was 70.39 % in 2007 and 
72.35 % in 2008. Over a period of four years, the compliance rate for EU-2528 fell by -1.06 
point  from  2005  to  2008.  Compared  with  the  2004  results,  the  decrease  was  -7.06  points. 
These  decreasing  figures  may  be  partly  attributed  to  an  increase  in  the  number  of  channels 
covered  during  the  reference  period  and  the  amount  of  non-communicated  data  on 
independent productions broadcasting29. 

The average compliance rate in each Member State ranged from 35.13 % (Bulgaria) to 100 % 
in four Member States (Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Malta) in 2007 and from 35.12 % 

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For comparability purposes, the averages considered for 2005 and 2006 include the data provided on a 
voluntary basis by Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EU on 1.1.2007. 
Cyprus registered an independent productions average of 9.7 % in 2005 and 6.5 % in 2006, while in the 
reference period the averages were 39.6 % in 2007 and 41.9 % in 2008. 
The EU-25 basis has been taken in order to allow for a comparison with the period 2004-2008. 
For the purpose of this indicator, channels for which no data were communicated are considered non-
compliant — see Annex 1: Performance indicators — Indicator 5. 

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(Italy)  to  100 %  in  three  Member  States  (Estonia,  Lithuania  and  Malta)  in  2008.  Over  the 
reference  period,  average  compliance  rates  increased  in  10  Member  States,  remained 
unchanged in eight Member States and fell in nine Member States. EU-10, with an average 
compliance rate of 78.67% in 2007 and 83.30 % in 2008, presented a higher rate than the EU-
15  with  68.92 %  and  69.24 %  respectively  in  2007  and  2008,  confirming  the  successful 
implementation of Article 5 in the Member States of EU-10.  

The EU average share reserved for recent European works by independent producers (recent 
works30)  was  62.99 %  in  2007  and  63.88 %  in  2008  of  all  European  works  created  by 
independent producers, representing a slight increase (0.89 point) over the reference  period. 
However,  compared  with  the  average  achieved  in  200531  (68.75),  the  2008  average 
represented a decrease of -4.87 points. In the mid-term, figures show a continued downward 
trend, with the 64.88 % average achieved in 2008 in the EU-2532 representing a decrease of-
4.21 points in relation to the 2004 result (69.09 %). This decreasing trend has to be compared 
with the increase of 4.97 points over the period 2001-2006 which was reported in the eighth 
Communication.  When  taking  into  consideration  the  2005-2008  period,  the  recent  works 
average  registered  by  the  EU-10  group  in  2008  (65.39 %)  represented  a  decrease  of  -6.90 
points  in  relation  to  the  2005  figure  (72.29 %).  The  EU-15  group  achieved  a  lower  average 
than the EU-10 group, in both 2008 (64.53 %) and 2005 (66.23 %), but the decrease registered 
from  2005  to  2008  (-  1.69  points)  was  also  more  limited  than  for  the  EU-10.  The  results 
achieved by the EU-10 therefore reconfirm that Article 5 has been successfully implemented 
in these countries, although efforts should be made to correct a perceptible downward trend, 
also in the EU-15.  

The two most recent Member States registered a very good performance (56.7 % average in 
2007  and  51.35 %  in  2008)  in  the  period  under  review,  which  confirms  their  problem-free 
integration into the Article 5 regime. 

The results show that the requirements of Article 5 are being met comfortably at EU level in 
terms  of  independent  productions  broadcasting,  including  an  adequate  proportion  of  recent 
works,  although  a  declining  trend  has  been  observed  with  respect  to  the  level  achieved  in 
2005. Member States are therefore called upon to monitor the application of Article 5 by the 
broadcasters falling within their jurisdiction and to encourage a positive development in the 
scheduling of European independent productions and recent works.  

3. 

CONCLUSION 

According to the statistical data provided by the Member States, the scheduling of European 
works  at  the  EU  level  registered  a  very  slight  increase  during  the  current  reference  period. 
Over  the  period  2005-2008,  development  was  stable,  although  some  variations  were 
registered between 2005 and 2007 (upward trend followed by a decrease in 2007). However, 
in 2008 European works scheduling was back at the same level as in 2005 (63.2 % for the EU-
27).  This  demonstrates  stabilisation  at  a  relatively  high  level,  well  above  the  required 
proportion  set  out  in  Article  4.  Furthermore,  this  result  has  to  be  interpreted  against  the 
background  of  a  continued  increase  in  the  number  of  channels  on  the  market,  with  the 
emergence of small specialised channels which may well find it difficult to meet the required 

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i.e. works broadcast within five years of their production. 
For comparability purposes, the figures have been calculated on a EU-27 basis 
EU-25 is taken as a basis in order to make comparison possible with the 2004 figure. 

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proportion  of  European  works  from  the  start  of  their  operations.  This  aspect  was  already 
stressed  in  the  eighth  Communication  and  should  be  taken  into  account  when  assessing 
overall  performance  with  respect  to  the  scheduling  of  European  works  in  the  EU  over  the 
current reference period.  

Although the overall situation is satisfactory, there is still some room for progress. Firstly, the 
three  Member  States  which  failed  to  attain  the  required  proportions  of  European  works  in 
2007  and  2008  should  step  up  their  efforts  in  order  to  improve  their  performance  and 
strengthen the increase (in one case, very slight) already registered in 2008. Since two of these 
underperforming  Member  States  belong  to  the  EU-10,  an  increase  in  their  European  works 
averages  would  have  a  positive  impact  on  the  downward  trend  registered  by  the  EU-10 
between 2005 and 2008, which should also be corrected. 

Finally, it is worth drawing attention to the high level of European works scheduling achieved 
by  the  two  most  recent  Member  States  during  the  reference  period  and  the  increase  they 
registered over the 2005-2008 period. 

With  respect  to  the  implementation  of  Article  5  of  the  Directive,  the  overall  development 
observed during the reference period shows a slight downward trend for independent works. 
According  to  the  statistical  statements  provided  by  the  Member  States,  a  decrease  was 
registered over the current reference period as well as in the period 2005-2008. Although it is 
not a significant decrease (-0.83 point from 2005 to 2008), it reverses the positive trend that 
was  registered  in  the  previous  period.  As  far  as  independent  productions  are  concerned,  it 
should be noted that the EU-10 improved their performance. 

There  is  a  somewhat  sharper  downward  trend  as  regards  recent  works  by  independent 
producers  over  the  period  2005-2008.  Member  States  are  invited  to  encourage  the  channels 
falling within their jurisdiction to step up their efforts in order to increase the scheduling of 
independent productions and recent works. 

Nonetheless,  the  results  achieved  during  the  reference  period  testify  to  a  satisfactory 
implementation of Article 5, with a level of achievement well above the proportions required 
by this provision. 

As  already  stated  in  the  eighth  Communication,  the  results  of  the  analysis  of  the  reports 
submitted by the Member States33 show that the requirements set out in Articles 4 and 5 of the 
Directive have been met comfortably during the period 2007-2008, as reflected in the charts 
reproduced below. 

33 

See point 2 of Staff Working Document: Application of Articles 4 and 5: detailed analysis. 

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9 

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Development of Main Indicators from 2005-2008 (EU-27) 

68,8

67

65,1

63,2

62,6

63

63,2

63,9

35,7

36,8

35,3

34,9

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

2005

2006

2007

2008

IND 2 = %European w orks/Total qualifying transmission time

IND 4 = %European w orks by independent producers/ Total qualifying transmission time

IND 6 = %European recent w orks by independent producers/Transmission time devoted to independent productions

EN 

10 

   EN