 |
| MEDIA |
| TOPICS |
| PRODUCTS / SERVICES |
|
|
 | ||
 |
 |
 |
|
Press ReleaseStrasbourg, 9 May 2012
New rules of the funding game? The European Audiovisual Observatory publishes new IRIS plus
report |
More
about this IRIS plus here |
|
|
Subscribe
to our free IRIS electronic newsletter |
||
| Legal
database IRIS Merlin |
This year’s Cannes festival will spark off a number of film-related debates, but perhaps none more far-reaching than the current discussions on the rules for public film funding in Europe. Indeed, the European Audiovisual Observatory has focused its annual workshop in Cannes this year on this very theme. One of the key presentations of this workshop will centre on the Observatory’s latest IRIS plus report just published in time for Cannes:
The lead article by Observatory Legal Analyst, Francisco Cabrera, looks towards the passing of a new Cinema Communication, the European Commission’s key set of rules for film funding in Europe currently under review and the subject of wide-ranging public consultation. The current Cinema Communication determines the criteria that the Commission uses to assess the compatibility of state aid schemes for film and audiovisual production in Europe with current EU law. Clearly a central document for the attribution of public aid to film products, therefore.
Cabrera opens with a useful overview of EU competence on cultural matters. It is the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) which stipulates that state aid in general may not distort competition. However, aid to promote culture and heritage conservation may be compatible with the common market where such aid does not affect trading conditions and competition in the Union to an extent that is contrary to the common interest.
The article then looks at the text of the current Cinema Communication dating from 2001. This document and the validity of the rules it contains were extended three times in 2004, 2007and 2009. Globally, it provided to be satisfactory and functional for industry and decision-makers alike. However, certain trends in the audiovisual industries such as “support for aspects other than film and TV production ([…] film distribution and digital projection), more regional film support schemes, as well as competition among some member states to use state aid to attract inward investment from large-scale, mainly US, film production companies” incited the Commission to apply the current criteria until the end of 2012 at the latest and at the same time to launch a public consultation on the revision of the Communication.
This public consultation was based on an Issues Paper which contained what the Commission felt to be the main areas of consultation and served as a basis of all answers to be submitted by 30 September 2011. The issues paper addressed questions such as the “subsidy race” (the attracting of large-scale inward investment in a particular country through funding or indeed tax shelter incentives), aid for activities other than production as well as for the digitisation of cinemas, the scope of works to be supported (opening up the whole ‘cross-media’ debate), territorial conditions for spending aid awarded and of course the consequences for state aid of the digital revolution.
Cabrera then goes on to provide an exclusive overview of some of the responses to the Issues Paper from the representatives of the various branches of the film industry. Not surprisingly, most interested parties agreed that the rules on aid intensity (proportion of aid to the total budget) should not be lowered. Indeed some professional organisations were in favour of increasing the proportion of aid allowed. When questioned on the “subsidy race” issue, most professional organisations adopted a pan-European stance, pointing out the overall benefits for the European industry as a whole of welcoming large productions from outside of Europe. Regarding the Commission’s proposals to reduce territorial spending obligations (the current Communication allows a member state to attribute public support on the requirement that up to 80% of the film production budget be spent in its territory) most professional organisations gave this proposal a lukewarm reception, arguing that, for example, “territorial conditions do indeed ensure the continued presence of human skills and technical expertise required for cultural creation”.
Cabrera concludes his leading article with a round-up of the propositions included in the current draft Communication published in March of this year. We are currently in the heat of the three-month consultation period to end in June 2012. The author concludes that “it is to be expected that the European Commission will meet with resistance from some member states and professional organisations on at least the most controversial issues such as territorialisation and the “subsidy race”.
The Related Reporting Section of this new publication covers recent developments on film policy such as the European Commission’s Creative Europe Programme. Short reporting articles also cover the latest news on public funding in Europe.
Rounding off this IRIS plus is the Zoom section which provides invaluable background statistical data on the current state of film funding in Europe. This data is taken from a recent Observatory publication: “Public Funding for Film and Audiovisual Works in Europe” by the Observatory’s Film Analyst, Susan Newman-Baudais.
An invaluable companion to the current film funding debate which looks as though it may well come to a head during the Cannes Film Festival this year…
Alison Hindhaugh, Information and Press Officer, Tel.: +33 (0) 3 90 21 60 10 - E-mail: alison.hindhaugh@coe.int
LINKED IN: Click here to join our LINKED IN Group
Facebook: click here to see our page and become a friend!
Twitter: get our Tweets here.
To take out a subscription to IRIS plus or purchase an individual issue, click here or contact markus.booms@coe.int.
For further information on the content of our IRIS products, please contact our legal department:
susanne.nikoltchev@coe.int - francisco.cabrera@coe.int
|
The European Audiovisual Observatory Set up in December 1992, the European Audiovisual Observatory's mission is to gather and distribute information on the audiovisual industry in Europe. The Observatory is a European public service body comprised of 37 member states and the European Union, represented by the European Commission. It operates within the legal framework of the Council of Europe and works alongside a number of partner and professional organisations from within the industry and with a network of correspondents. In addition to contributions to conferences, other major activities are the publication of a Yearbook, newsletters and reports, the compilation and management of databases and the provision of information through the Observatory’s Internet site (http://www.obs.coe.int). |
 |