Proposal for a Council Decision on the implementation of a programme to encourage the development, distribution and promotion of European audiovisual works (MEDIA Plus - Development, Distribution and Promotion) (2001-2005)
30. 5. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 150 E/65 Proposal for a Council Decision on the implementation of a programme to encourage the devel- opment, distribution and promotion of European audiovisual works (MEDIA Plus - Development, Distribution and Promotion) (2001-2005) (2000/C 150 E/07) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(1999) 658 final - 1999/0276(CNS) (Submitted by the Commission on 28 January 2000) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 157(3) thereof, increased public need for at Community level, for strengthening the competitiveness of the European audiovisual industry. support, particularly Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlament, (5) The Green Paper on the Convergence of the telecom- munications, Media and Information Technology Sectors, and the Implications for Regulationí (2) underlines the risk of a shortage of good quality content on the digital and analogue television market. Having regard to the opinion of Committee, the Economic and Social Whereas: the digital ageí, (1) From 6 to 8 April 1998, the Commission, in collaboration with the United Kingdom presidency, held a European audiovisual conference on Challenges and opportunities of in Birmingham. This consultation process revealed the need for an enhanced programme of support in particular in the area of the development, distribution In the and promotion of European audiovisual works. digital age, activities in the audiovisual field contribute towards the creation of new jobs, particularly in the production and dissemination of audiovisual content. the European audiovisual industry, for (2) The Culture/Audiovisual Council of 28 May 1998, in approving the outcome of the European Audiovisual Conference in Birmingham, highlighted the desirability of encouraging the development a strong and competitive European taking particular account of Europe’s cultural diversity and the specific conditions obtaining in restricted linguistic areas. programme audiovisual industry, (3) The Report of the High-Level Group on Audiovisual Policy of 26 October 1998, entitled The Digital Age: the need to European Audiovisual Policyí, strengthen support measures the cinematographic and audiovisual industry, in particular by endowing the MEDIA programme with resources that are commensurate with the size and strategic importance of the industry. recognises for (6) The public consultation on the Green Paper, conducted by the Commission (3), highlighted the need to establish a framework to underpin the distribution and promotion of European audiovisual content for the traditional and new media in a digital environment. (7) In its Conclusions of 27 September 1999 regarding the the public consultation on the Convergence results of Green Paper (4), the Council invited the Commission to take account of the outcome of the consultation when drawing up proposals for measures to strengthen the European audiovisual industry, including the multimedia sector. (8) The Commission implemented an Action programme to the European audiovisual promote the development of industry (MEDIA) adopted by Council Decision 90/685/EEC (5) including in particular measures designed to support the development and distribution of European audiovisual works. (1991-1995)í, (9) The Community strategy for developing and strengthening the European audiovisual industry was confirmed in the framework of the MEDIA II Programme (1996-2000), adopted by Council Decision 95/563/EC (6), and by Council Decision 95/564/EC (7) It is appropriate, on the basis of the experience acquired from the Programme, to the results ensure its extension, obtained. taking into account (4) The Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers entitled Audiovisual Policy: Next Stepsí (1) recognises the (1) COM(1998) 446 final, 14. 7. 1998. (2) COM(1997) 623 final, 3. 12. 1997. (3) SEC(1998) 1284 final, 29. 7. 1998. (4) OJ C 283, 6. 10. 1999, p. 1. (5) OJ L 380, 31. 12. 1990, p. 37. (6) OJ L 321, 30. 12. 1995, p. 25. (7) OJ L 321, 30. 12. 1995, p. 33. C 150 E/66 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 30. 5. 2000 (10) The Commission report on the results obtained under the MEDIA II programme (1996-2000) from 1 January 1996 to 30 June 1998 states that the Programme responds to the necessary subsidiarity of Community funds compared with national funds, since MEDIA areas of involvement complement the national the traditional emphasis of mechanisms (1). (11) It is necessary to take into account the cultural aspects of the audiovisual sector, in accordance with Article 151 of the Treaty. (12) The advent of a European audiovisual market necessitates the development and production of European works, namely works originating from Member States as well as works originating from European third countries participating in the MEDIA Plus programme or having a cooperation framework satisfying the conditions set out in Article 6 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 activities (2), as amended by European Parliament and Council Directive 97/36/EC (3). (13) The competitiveness of audiovisual programme the industry depends on the use of new technologies at the programme development, production and distribution stages. It is therefore appropriate to ensure suitable and effective coordination with the measures undertaken in the field of new technologies, in particular the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Community for technological development and demonstration research, adopted by Decision No activities (1998-2002), the 182/1999/EC of Council (4). the European Parliament and of as (14) In its Report to the European Council, entitled Job oppor- tunities in the information society (5), the Commission referred to the major job-creation potential provided by the new audiovisual services. (15) In its Communication on Community policies in support of employment (6), the Commission recognised the MEDIA II Programme’s positive impact on employment in the audiovisual sector. (16) There is a need to improve the conditions for distributing European cinematographic works on the European and international markets. Cooperation between international and national distributors, cinema owners and producers (1) COM(1999) 91 final, 16. 3. 1999. (2) OJ L 298, 17. 10. 1989, p. 23. (3) OJ L 202, 30. 7. 1997, p. 60. (4) OJ L 26, 1. 2. 1999, p. 1. (5) COM(1998) 590 final. (6) COM(1999) 167 final. should be encouraged and support should be given to concerted common scheduling measures at European level. action to promote (17) There is a need for improvement in the television broad- casting prospects of European works on the European and international markets. Cooperation between broadcasters, (as defined in Article 2 of Directive 89/552/EEC, inter- national distributors and producers should be encouraged. (18) There is a need to facilitate market access for independent European production and distribution companies, and to promote both European works and European companies in the audiovisual sector. (19) Public access to the European audiovisual heritage should in particular through its digitisation and be improved, networking at European level. (20) The associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Cyprus, Malta, Turkey and those EFTA countries which are parties to the EEA Agreement are recognised as potential participants in Community programmes on the basis of supplementary appropriations and in accordance with the procedures to be agreed with those countries. (21) The other countries of Europe which are parties to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television are an integral part of the European audiovisual area and should therefore be enabled to participate in this Programme on the basis of supplementary appropriations, in accordance with the procedures to be established in the agreement between the interested parties. Those countries should be if they wish, and regard being had to budgetary able, considerations or their audiovisual industries, to participate in the programme and to benefit under a more limited cooperation formula, on the basis of supplementary appropriations and specific arrangements to be agreed between the interested parties. the priorities of (22) Cooperation with third countries, non-European developed on the basis of mutual and balanced interests, may enable the European audiovisual industry to derive an added value in terms of the promotion, market access, distribution, dissemination and exploitation of European works in those countries. Such cooperation should be developed on the basis of supplementary appropriations and specific arrangements to be established in the agreement between the interested parties. the Declaration by the European Parliament, (23) A financial reference amount, within the meaning of point the 2 of Council and the Commission of 6 March 1995 (7) is included in this Decision for the entire duration of the programme, without prejudice to the powers of the budgetary authority as defined by the Treaty. (7) OJ C 102, 4. 4. 1996, p. 4. 30. 5. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 150 E/67 (24) In accordance with Article 2 of Council Decision laying down the 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999, implementing powers procedures conferred on the Commission (1), measures the implementation of this Decision should be adopted by use of the advisory procedure provided for in Article 3 of that Decision. the exercise of for for HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: Article 1 referred (hereinafter A programme 1. áthe is hereby established to encourage the devel- Programmeí), opment, distribution and promotion of European audiovisual to run from 1 works within and outside the Community, January 2001 to 31 December 2005, for the purpose of strengthening the European audiovisual industry. to as 2. The objectives of the Programme are as follows: Article 3 In the distribution sector, Programme are as follows: the specific objectives of the (a) to strengthen the European distribution sector in the field of cinema by encouraging distributors to invest in the acquisition and promotion of non-domestic European cinema films; (b) to foster the wider dissemination of non-domestic European films on the European and inter- national markets to stimulate their through measures distribution and their screening in cinemas; transnational (c) to strengthen the distribution sector for European works on media intended for private use, by encouraging distributors to invest in digital technology and in the promotion of non-domestic European works; (a) an improvement in the competitiveness of the European audiovisual industry on the European and international markets, by supporting the development, distribution and promotion of European audiovisual works, taking due account of the development of new technologies; (d) to promote the movement, in the Community and outside it, of European television programmes intended for a European and world audience, by encouraging independent European broadcasters and independent distributors and producers to cooperate right from the production stage; (b) respect for European linguistic and cultural diversity; (e) to encourage the creation of catalogues of Europe works in digital format intended for exploitation on new media; (c) exploitation of the European audiovisual heritage, and in particular its digitisation and networking; (f) to support the linguistic diversity of European audiovisual and cinematographic works. (d) the development of the audiovisual sector in countries or regions with a low capacity for audiovisual production and/or a restricted geographical and linguistic area; (e) building up a production and distribution sector, especially comprising small and medium-sized enterprises. Those objectives shall be realised in accordance with the detailed arrangements set out in the Annex. Article 4 In the field of promotion and market access, the Programme aims to: (a) facilitate and encourage the promotion and movement of European audiovisual and cinematographic works at trade fairs in Europe and around the globe, as well as at European audiovisual festivals; Article 2 In the development Programme are as follows: sector, the specific objectives of the (b) encourage the networking of operators at European level, particularly by supporting joint activities between national promotion organisations. (a) to promote, by providing financial support, the devel- opment of production projects (dramas for cinema or television, for television or cinema, works exploiting the audiovisual and cinematographic heritage) submitted by companies and aimed at the European and international markets; creative documentaries, animated films (b) to promote, by providing financial support, the devel- opment of production projects that make use of new creation, production and dissemination technologies. (1) OJ L 184, 17. 7. 1999, p. 23. Article 5 Beneficiaries of Community support shall provide a 1. the funding. Community funding significant proportion of shall not exceed 50 % of the cost of operations. In the cases expressly provided for in the Annex, this percentage may nonetheless reach 60 % of the cost of operations. 2. The financial reference amount for implementation of the Programme for the period referred to in Article 1(1) shall be EUR 350 million. The annual appropriations shall be auth- orised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspectives. C 150 E/68 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 30. 5. 2000 3. Without prejudice to the agreements and conventions to which the Community is a contracting party, the undertakings benefiting from the programme shall be owned and shall continue to be owned, whether directly or by majority partici- pation, by Member States and/or by nationals of Member States. Article 6 Financial support under the Programme may be granted in the form of conditionally repayable advances or subsidies, as defined in the Annex. The repayments under the Programme, together with the repayments the MEDIA programme (1991-1995) and MEDIA II programme the (1996-2000), shall be allocated to the requirements of MEDIA Plus Programme. from operations under Article 7 The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the Programme, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 8(2) and with the rules laid down in the Annex. Article 8 1. The Commission shall be assisted by the committee (the MEDIA Committeeí) established by Article 6 of Decision. /. /EC (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, the advisory procedure laid down in Article 3 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, in compliance with Article 7(3) thereof. Article 9 To ensure that the Programme can be flexibly adapted to tech- nological developments, pilot projects shall be implemented in the fields defined in the Annex. This Programme shall be open to the participation of 2. Cyprus, Malta, Turkey and those EFTA countries which are parties to the EEA Agreement on the basis of supplementary appropriations, in accordance with the procedures to be agreed with those countries. This Programme shall be open to the participation of the 3. to the Council of Europe countries which are parties Convention on Transfrontier Television other than those referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, on the basis of supplementary appropriations, in accordance with conditions to be established in the agreements between the interested parties. The opening-up of the programme to the European third 4. countries referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 may be subject to a prior examination as to the compatibility of their national legislation with the Community acquis, including the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of Directive 89/552/EEC. 5. The Programme shall also be open to cooperation with other third countries on the basis of supplementary appro- priations and the specific arrangements to be established in agreements between the interested parties. The European third countries referred to in paragraph 3 which do not wish to benefit from full participation in the Programme may be eligible for cooperation with the Programme under the conditions set out in this paragraph. Article 11 1. The Commission shall ensure that measures taken under this Decision are subject to prior appraisal, and to subsequent monitoring and evaluation. 2. After completion of the projects, the Commission shall evaluate the manner in which they have been carried out and the impact of their implementation, in order to assess whether the original objectives have been achieved. various In this task the Commission may consult Technical Consul- tation Groups. These shall be composed of professionals industry, from the appointed by the Member States and chaired by a represen- tative of the Commission. The Technical Consultation Groups shall submit their reports to the Commission, which shall take the utmost account of them. sectors of audiovisual the to the European Parliament, After two years of implementation of the Programme, the 3. Commission shall present the Council and the Economic and Social Committee an evaluation report on the impact and effectiveness of the Programme based on the results obtained. This report shall be accompanied, if need be, by any adjustment including budgetary adjustments. to the Programme, Article 10 The Programme shall be open to the participation of the 1. associated countries of Eastern and Central Europe in accordance with the conditions laid down in the association agreements or their additional protocols relating to partici- pation in Community programmes concluded or to be concluded with those countries. On completion of the Programme the Commission shall 4. submit the Council and the Economic and Social Committee a report on the implemen- tation and results of the Programme. to the European Parliament, Article 12 This Decision shall take effect on 1 January 2001. (1) See page. of this Official Journal. 30. 5. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 150 E/69 ANNEX 1. MEASURES TO BE IMPLEMENTED 1. 1. In the ádevelopment of audiovisual worksí sector The object of the programme measures is to provide financial assistance for enterprises in the audiovisual sector submitting: - proposals supporting the development of audiovisual works presented project by project; - proposals supporting the development of project catalogues (project packages) as part of a medium-term business strategy. Selection criteria will chiefly take account of the European and international nature of the projects, and in particular: - the interest shown by co-producers in the project; - the project’s transnational exploitation potential interest by distributors, the project’s production potential, previous productions by the tendering enterprise or its constituent individuals); (as demonstrated by the expression of - the quality and originality of the concept, script or narrative; - the potential for using new technologies (special effects, computer images, interactivity, etc. ). As a general rule, financial support for development will take the form of conditionally reimbursable loans for individual projects, and non-reimbursable subsidies for project catalogues. The contribution will generally be limited to 50 % of project costs, but may be raised to 60 % for projects that exploit European cultural diversity. 1. 2. In the distribution and dissemination sector 1. 2. 1. Cinema distribution: The following lines of action will be implemented in order to achieve the objectives outlined in Article 3: (a) a support scheme in the form of a conditionally reimbursable advance for distributors of European cinema- tographic works outside their production territory. The aim of this scheme is: - to encourage the networking of European distributors in conjunction with international producers and distributors, in order to promote joint strategies for the European market, - to encourage distributors in particular to invest in adequate promotion and distribution costs for European films, whatever their production budget, - to assist with the multilingual aspects of European film-making (dubbing, subtitling and multilingual production). The criteria for selecting beneficiaries may include provisions to distinguish between projects according to their budget category. Special support will be granted for films that exploit European cultural diversity. (b) a system of áautomaticí support for European distributors proportional to the number of seats sold for non-domestic European films in countries participating in the programme, up to a limit per film and adjusted for each country. This type of support may be used by distributors only for investment in the following: - the acquisition of non-domestic European films; - editing costs (copying, dubbing and subtitling), promotion costs and publicity costs for non-domestic European films. Reinvestment arrangements will provide for a Community contribution of over 50 % (but not more than 60 %) of project costs, particularly for investment in the production stage and in films exploiting European cultural diversity. (c) a system to assist European companies specialising in the international distribution of cinema films (sales agents) according to their performance on the market over a given period. This type of assistance may be used by international distributors only for investment in costs arising from the promotion of new European works on the European and international markets. C 150 E/70 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 30. 5. 2000 (d) appropriate assistance to encourage operators to screen a significant proportion of non-domestic European films in premiere cinemas for a minimum screening period. The support granted to each cinema will be determined according to the number of cinema seats sold for non-domestic European films during a in particular, contribute to measures to educate and raise awareness reference period. Support should, the creation and consolidation of amongst young cinema-goers. Support will also be granted for networks of European operators running joint schemes to encourage such scheduling. (e) a support scheme for the production of international soundtracks (music and effects) for European cinema- tographic works. The support granted will be determined according to the production budget. 1. 2. 2. Distribution of off-line European works. This is understood to mean the distribution of European works on media intended for private use. Automatic support: a system of automatic support for editors and distributors of European cinematographic works on media intended for private use (e. g. videocassettes, DVD, DVD-Rom) according to market performance over a given period. The support granted may be used by distributors only for investment in the following: - the costs of editing and distributing new non-domestic European works in digital form; or - the costs of promoting new non-domestic European works in non-digital format. This system is designed to: - encourage the use of new technologies in the production of European works intended for private use (production of a digital master for use by all European distributors); - encourage distributors in particular to make adequate investment in the costs of promoting and distributing non-domestic European films and audiovisual works; - assist with multilingual European productions (dubbing, subtitling and multilingual production). 1. 2. 3. Television broadcasting: Encourage independent producers to produce works (feature films, documentaries and animated films) involving at least three broadcasters in several Member States belonging to different language zones. The criteria for selecting beneficiaries may include provisions that distinguish between projects by budget category. Special support will be granted for audiovisual works that exploit European heritage and cultural diversity. 1. 2. 4. Distribution of European works on-line: This is taken to mean the distribution of European works on-line via advanced distribution services and new media (Internet, video-on-demand, pay-per-view). The aim is to encourage the European audiovisual industry to adapt to developments in digital technology, particularly as regards advanced on-line distribution services. Introduction of incentives to digitise works and create promotional and publicity material in digital form, so encouraging European companies (suppliers of on-line access, special-interest channels, etc. ) to create catalogues of European works in digital format for exploitation via new media. 1. 3. Promotion 1. 3. 1. In the field of promotion and market access: The programme measures aim to: (a) improve the conditions governing access by professionals to the European and international markets via specific technical and financial support schemes as part of events such as: - the main European and international cinema markets; 30. 5. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 150 E/71 - the main European and international television markets; - special-interest markets, particularly for animated films, documentaries, multimedia and new tech- nologies. (b) encourage the creation of a database on catalogues of European programmes. To this end, the Commission is encouraging the networking of operators at European level, essentially by supporting joint initiatives involving national promotional bodies. Criteria for selecting projects will principally take account of the following: - the European dimension, - the quality of professional services (producers, distributors, broadcasters, sales agents), - the expertise of service providers and operators in the field of promotion. Support will generally be limited to 50 % of project costs. 1. 3. 2. In the festivals field: The programme measures aim to: - support joint audiovisual festivals that screen a significant proportion of European works; - encourage joint projects with a European dimension involving audiovisual events from at least eight Member States, with a common action plan to promote European audiovisual works and their movement. Particular attention will be paid to festivals which help to promote works from Member States or regions with a low audiovisual production capacity and works by young European producers, and which establish a policy for monitoring the distribution of the European works featured at the festivals. Priority will be given to projects from networks which encourage lasting cooperation between events. Support will generally be limited to 50 % of project costs. 1. 3. 3. Activities to promote European productions: To encourage professionals, European audiovisual and cinema productions intended for the general public. in close association with the Member States, to organise activities to promote 1. 4. Pilot projects The Commission will implement pilot projects in the following areas: - conservation and exploitation of the cinematographic heritage, by encouraging partnerships between operators in the cinematographic sector and public or private bodies; - digitisation of European audiovisual programme archives; - networking the owners of rights to catalogues of European audiovisual works; - scheduling of European audiovisual works on special-interest channels in digital format; - creation of a suitable environment for developing and disseminating new advanced on-line distribution services. Where appropriate, the Commission may approach the technical consultation groups for assistance. C 150 E/72 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 30. 5. 2000 2. IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE 2. 1. Approach In implementing the programme, the Commission will work closely with the Member States. It will also consult the partners concerned and ensure that the participation of professionals in the programme reflects European cultural diversity. 2. 2. Funding 2. 2. 1. Community contribution Community funding will not exceed 50 % of the cost of the planned measures (other than in the cases expressly provided for in the Annex, where a higher ceiling applies) and will be granted in the form of advances or conditionally reimbursable loans. For multilingual support, the Community contribution will be in the form of subsidies. 2. 2. 2. Prior appraisal, monitoring and subsequent evaluation Prior to approving a request for Community support, the Commission will carefully evaluate it to check that it complies with this Decision and with the conditions set out in points 2 and 3 of this Annex. Requests for Community support must include the following: - a financial plan setting out all the project funding components, including the financial support requested from the Commission; - a provisional work timetable; - any other relevant information required by the Commission. 2. 2. 3. Financial provisions and control The Commission shall set out the rules on commitments and payments for the measures undertaken pursuant to this Decision, in compliance with the appropriate provisions of the financial regulations. 2. 3. Implementation 2. 3. 1. The Commission shall implement the programme. It may, to this end, call upon consultants and technical assistance offices to be selected, after a call for tenders, on the basis of their expertise in the sector. The Technical assistance shall be financed by the programme’s budget. The Commission may also conclude, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 8(2), partnerships for ad hoc operations with specialist bodies such as Audiovisual Eureka, in order to implement joint measures that meet the programme objectives in the field of promotion. The Commission will make the final selection of the beneficiaries of the programme and decide on the financial support to be granted, in accordance with Article 7. In order to execute this programme and, in particular, evaluate the projects benefiting from the programme funding and networking activities, the Commission shall draw on the know-how of recognised audiovisual experts in the fields of development, production, distribution and promotion. 2. 3. 2. The Commission shall take the necessary steps to provide information on the opportunities offered by the Programme, and shall ensure its promotion. The Commission and the Member States shall take the necessary steps, by continuing with the activities of the network of MEDIA Desks and Antennae and ensuring that their professional skills are enhanced, in order to: - publicise and promote the programme; - encourage maximum participation in the programme’s activities by professionals; - assist professionals with the presentation of projects in response to calls for proposals; - foster transborder cooperation between professionals; - liaise between the various support bodies in the Member States with a view to ensuring that programme activities complement national support measures