CELEX: 51994PC0523(02)
Language: en
Date: 1995-02-08
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on a programme to promote the development and distribution of European audiovisual works (MEDIA II - Development and Distribution) (1996 - 2000)

Avis juridique important

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51994PC0523(02)

Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on a programme to promote the development and distribution of European audiovisual works (MEDIA II - Development and Distribution) (1996 - 2000)  /* COM/94/523FINAL - CNS 95/0027 */  

Official Journal C 108 , 29/04/1995 P. 0008

Proposal for a  Council Decision on a programme to promote the development and distribution of European audiovisual  works (Media II - Development and Distribution) (1996 to 2000)(95/C  108/05)(Text with EEA  relevance)COM(94) 523 final - 95/0027(CNS)(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 130 (3)  thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee, 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 5-C thereof, states the economic importance of the audiovisual industry; 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, on 17 June 1994 of the Green Paper on 'Strategy options to  strengthen the European programme industry in the context of the audiovisual policy of the European  Union`  (2); 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  (3), examined the problems of the  audiovisual industry, following Council Directive 89/552/EEC  (4) (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 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  (5) on the Green Paper, stating that  European-level programmes such as Media could have a positive influence on the development  structures and means of production in Europe; Whereas the Commission has implemented a programme of measures to encourage the development of the  European audiovisual industry (Media 1991 to 1995), adopted by Council Decision 90/685/EEC  (6),  including measures to support the development and distribution of European audiovisual works; 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 Mediaprogramme; Whereas experience from the Mediaprogramme has shown that action is needed both before and after  production; whereas companies in the sector, in particular small and medium-sized businesses,  should be strengthened and cooperation between distributors/broadcasters and producers should be  encouraged; Whereas the emergence of a European audiovisual market requires the development of 'European  works`, which means works from Member States of the European Union as defined in Article 6 of  Directive 89/552/EEC; Whereas the competitiveness of the audiovisual programme industry requires utilization of new  technologies at the programme development stage; Whereas there is a need for improvement in the circulation prospects of European cinematographic  works on the European and world market; Whereas European producers and distributors should be more numerous and more effective on programme  markets; Whereas the development of the European audiovisual industry requires mechanisms capable of  attracting public and private resources; Whereas support for development and distribution 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, as in small countries or  regions with less widely spoken languages; Whereas, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, action taken by the Community should  support and supplement action taken by the relevant authorities in the Member States, HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: Article 1 A programme to promote the development and distribution of European  audiovisual works (hereinafter referred to as 'the programme`), to run for five years from 1  January 1996, is hereby adopted for the purpose of strengthening the European audiovisual industry,  particularly in the areas of development and distribution. Article 2 The aims of the Programme are as follows: 1. as regards development: - to promote the development of production projects aimed at the European and world market and to  support companies capable of developing such projects, - to develop production projects that make use of new creative techniques and to support companies  capable of developing such projects; 2. as regards distribution: - to encourage European distributors to invest in cinema film production and to set up cross-border  structures to distribute the films, - to encourage television companies to cooperate in investing in the production of works aimed at  the European and world market and to set up cross-border structures to transmit those works, - to support linguistic diversity of programmes, - to stimulate access to commercial events promoting European productions, in particular  independent ones. 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, beneficiaries of Community support working on the implementation of the  measures laid down in Article 3 must provide a significant proportion of the funding; Community  funding shall not exceed 50  % of the cost of operations. Article 5 Financial support under the programme may be granted in the form of loans, repayable  advances or subsidies. The repayments under the programme, together with the repayments from  operations under Media 1991 to 1995, will provide the funds for financial instruments to mobilize  public and private financing for European audiovisual production. Article 6 1.  The Commission shall be responsible for implementation of the programme. 2.  The Commission shall be assisted by a committee of an advisory nature composed of the  representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be  taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a time limit which the chairman  may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote. The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall have the right  to ask to have its opinion recorded in the minutes. The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the Committee. It shall  inform the Committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account. 3.  The draft proposals for measures to be taken by the Commission, as referred to in paragraph 2,  shall principally cover the following: - arrangements for budget implementation for the programme, - arrangements for implementation of the operations set out in the Annex, - arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the operations. Article 7 Within the six months following the first three years of the programme's  implementation, the Commission shall present to the European Parliament, the Council and the  Economic and Social Committee an evaluation report on the results achieved with suitable proposals,  as 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) 96 final, 6. 4. 1994.  (3) OJ No C 205, 25. 7. 1994, p. 561.  (4) OJ No L 298, 17. 10. 1989, p. 23.  (5) ESC 1000/94, 14. 9. 1994, p. 6.  (6) OJ No L 380, 31. 12. 1990, p. 37.   ANNEX 1. ACTION TO BE TAKENThe programme is intended to enhance the competitiveness of  the European audiovisual industry on the European and world market by supporting the development of  works with genuine commercial potential and the creation and strengthening of cross-border  distribution and transmission networks. THE PROPOSED OPERATIONS SHALL COVER THE FOLLOWING: 1.1. DevelopmentImproving development opportunities (pre-production) for drama, animation and  documentaries with a view to access to the European and world market by: - supporting the development of drama, documentaries and animation (cinema and television) aimed at  a European and world audience, in particular by promoting improvement in screenplay techniques; - supporting companies that have development project packages with European and world market  potential, - encouraging networking of companies with joint development projects aimed at the European and  world market. 1.2. Distribution and transmission1.2.1. Improving film and video distribution for European works  with high circulation potential on the European and world market by: - supporting the introduction of European distribution mechanisms encouraging distributors to  contribute to funding production of works with commercial potential on the European and world  market, - promoting networking of European distributors with joint commercial strategies on the European  and world market. 1.2.2. Television broadcastingImproving circulation opportunities for television programmes aimed  at the European and world market by: - introducing a mechanism encouraging television companies to contribute to the financing of works  with high circulation potential made by independent production companies and to distribute them on  the European market, - by supporting linguistic diversity by means of dubbing, subtitling and multilingual production. 1.2.3. Promoting independent productionsImproving access for independent producers and  distributors to the European and world market by operating services and promotional activities at  commercial events, such as markets, fairs and festivals, organized at European and international  level. 2. IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE2.1. ApproachIn implementing the programme, the Commission will work  closely with the public authorities that handle support for the audiovisual industry in the Member  States of the Union in order to ensure that the operations complement each other fully in  accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. 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. FundingCommunity funds are intended to improve market access opportunities for productions  targeted on a European and world audience. They are also intended to strengthen production and  distribution companies with growth potential on the European market and thereby help restructure  the industry. In either instance, Community outlay shall not exceed 50  % of the costs and shall be granted in  the form of repayable advances. The remainder will be provided by the industry. Community support for linguistic diversity in production will be granted in the form of subsidies. 2.3. ImplementationIn implementing the programme the Commission will be assisted by two  contractors capable of coordinating the performance of the tasks laid down in the action plan. One contractor will handle development, the other distribution as follows: Development: - development of drama, animation films and series, and documentaries; and support to companies, - development of programmes using advanced creative technologies. Distribution: - film and video distribution on the European market, - broadcasting of television programmes on the European market, - promotion of access for independent productions to the European and world market. The contractors will be selected by tender. The Commission will draw up terms and conditions for each of the contractors specifying how the  tasks laid down in the action plan are to be implemented. The contractors will manage, on behalf of the Commission, the resources allocated to them for the  purpose of stimulating development and distribution in the audiovisual industry. Resources will be  conveyed to audiovisual project promoters in the form of repayable advance or of loans. The contractors must be general-interest non-profit-making bodies. Selection of contractors will be based on the following criteria: - their professional experience in development and distribution, - their contacts with the relevant parties in the industry at national, regional and European  level, - the depth of their familiarity with the European audiovisual industry and the Union's policy on  it, - their experience of cross-border or European management, - the calibre of their staff and the soundness of their management infrastructure.