L 327/12 Official Journal of the European Union 24.11.2006 DECISION No 1718/2006/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 November 2006 concerning the implementation of a programme of support for the European audiovisual sector (MEDIA 2007) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular Articles 150(4) and 157(3) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (3), Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty (%), Whereas: —— — = = The European audiovisual sector has a key role to play in the emergence of European citizenship because it is one of the principal vectors for conveying the Union’s common and shared fundamental social and cultural values to Europeans and especially young people. Community support is designed to enable the European audiovisual sector to promote intercultural dialogue, increase mutual awareness amongst Europe’s cultures and develop its political, cultural, social and economic potential, which constitutes genuine added value in the task of making European citizenship a reality. Such support is intended to enhance competitiveness and, in particular, to increase the market share in Europe of non-national European works. It is also necessary to promote active citizenship and to do more to ensure respect for the principle of human dignity, promote equality between men and women and combat all forms of discrimination and exclusion, including racism and xenophobia. O] C 255, 14.10.2005, p. 39. O] C 164, 5.7.2005, p. 76. Opinion of the European Parliament of 25 October 2005 (not yet published in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 24 July 2006 (O] C 251 E, 17.10.2006, p. 1) and Position of the European Parliament of 25 October 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal). G) () All actions adopted pursuant to this programme should be compatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and, in particular, Article 11 thereof on freedom of expression and media pluralism. Article 22 of the said Charter states that the Union is to respect cultural and linguistic diversity. It is, therefore, necessary to pay attention to the specific needs of the smaller Member States and those with more than one linguistic area. Community support for the audiovisual sector takes into account Article 151 of the Treaty. Community support for the audiovisual sector is also in keeping with the new strategic aim defined for the Union by the Lisbon European Council of 23 and 24 March 2000, namely to boost training, employment, economic reform and social cohesion in a knowledge-based economy. In its conclusions, the European Council stated that ‘content industries create added value by exploiting and networking European cultural diversity’. This approach was confirmed in the conclusions of the Brussels European Council of 20 and 21 March 2003. Community support for the audiovisual sector is based on the considerable experience acquired in the MEDIA 1, MEDIA 1I, MEDIA Plus and MEDIA — Training pro- grammes (*), which have helped the European audiovisual industry to develop since 1991, as has emerged clearly in the evaluation of these programmes. Programmes which were established by: —  Council Decision 90/685/EEC of 21 December 1990 con- cerning the implementation of an action programme to promote the development of the European audiovisual industry (MEDIA) (1991 to 1995) (O] L 380, 31.12.1990, p. 37) (MEDIA I), —  Council Decision 95/563/EC of 10 July 1995 on the implementation of a programme encouraging the develop- ment and distribution of European audiovisual works (MEDIA II — Development and distribution) (1996 to 2000) (O] L 321, 30.12.1995, p. 25) and Council Decision 95/564/ EC of 22 December 1995 on the implementation of a training programme for professionals in the European audiovisual programme industry (MEDIA 1I — Training) (O] L 321, 30.12.1995, p. 33) (MEDIA 1), —  Council Decision 2000/821/EC of 20 December 2000 on the implementation of a programme to encourage the develop- ment, distribution and promotion of European audiovisual works (MEDIA Plus — Development, Distribution and Promotion) (2001 to 2005) (OJ L 336, 30.12.2000, p. 82). Decision as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 885/2004 (O] L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 1) (MEDIA Plus), and —  Decision No 163/2001/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 January 2001 on the implementation of a training programme for professionals in the European audiovisual programme industry (MEDIA — Training) (2001 to 2005) (O] L 26, 27.1.2001, p. 1). Decision as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 885/2004 (MEDIA — Training) respectively.