30. 12. 95 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 321/33 COUNCIL DECISION of 22 December 1995 on the implementation of a training programme for professionals in the European audiovisual programme industry (Media II — Training) {95/564/EC) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 127 (4) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189c of the Treaty (%), ( ( ( 1. Whereas the European Council meeting in Brussels ) %) ) on 10 and 11 December 1993 took note of the White Paper ‘Growth, competitiveness and employment’ as reference point for action by the European Union and its Member States; whereas the White Paper supports an industrial development approach based on global competitiveness, as the key to growth and employment, and states, in particular in Chapter 7, the need to adapt vocational skills in line with industrial and technological developments; Whereas the European Council meeting 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 the ‘Industry/Telecommunications’ Council of 28 September 1994 issued a favourable opinion on the Commission’s communication of 19 July 1994 entitled ‘Europe’s way to the information society: an action plan’; whereas it emphasized the need to improve the competitiveness of the European audiovisual industry; Whereas the Council took formal note of the Commission’s communication of 1 September 1994 '} OJ No C 108, 29. 4. 1995, p. 4. 0OJ No C 256, 2. 10. 1995, p. 24, %) Opinion of the European Parliament of 16 june 1995 (O] No C 166, 3. 7. 1995, p. 200), Council common position of 10 July 1995 (O] No C 281, 25. 10. 1995, p. 1) and Decision of the European Parliament of 15 November 1995 (not yet published in the Official Journal). ( ( 4 5 entitled ‘An industrial competitiveness policy for the European Union’ which showed the close correlation between the development prospects of technologies, products, programmes (in particular audiovisual programmes) and the associated services and networks and recalled the need to raise the training standards of human resources in order to make European industry competitive; Whereas the Council took formal note on 17 June 1994 of the Green Paper ‘Strategy options to strengthen the European programme industry in the context of the audiovisual policy of the European - Union’; 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 consultation process revealed a strong desire for an enhanced programme of support for the European audiovisual industry, in particular in the area of training; Whereas the European Parliament, in its resolution of 6 May 1994 (*), examined the problems of the audiovisual industry, following 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 activities (*) (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 the financing mechanisms, pre-production, distribution and training, were the best means of establishing coherent, stable European networks’; Whereas on 14 September 1994 the Economic and Social Committee issued its opinion on the Green Paper, stating that European-level programmes such as Media could have a positive influence on the development of programme structures and means of production in Europe; Whereas the Commission implemented an action programme to encourage the development of the } OJ No C 205, 25. 7. 1994, p. 561, ) O) No L 298, 17. 10. 1989, p. 23.