MEDIA 2007
On the 15th of November the European Parliament and Council adopted a new programme to support the European audiovisual sector: MEDIA 2007. The Programme entered into force on 1 January 2007.
Like its forerunners, MEDIA 2007 will focus on activities before and after production offering support for training, project development, distribution and promotion. The Programme will also put in place measures to accompany the changes that digitisation is producing in the audiovisual sector at all stages of the production and distribution chain, including in terms of new skills for professionals in the sector.
The budget will be €755 million over seven years (2007-13).
The funds available will be allocated to the following categories:
Acquisition and improvement of skills at least 7%
Development at least 20%
Distribution at least 55%
Promotion approximately 9%
Pilot Projects approximately 4%
Horizontal Costs at least 5%
The new focus
The consequences of the digital revolution and the enlargement of the EU required a rethink of the priorities and structure of the new programme. The public consultation carried out by the Commission in preparation for MEDIA 2007 identified areas where changes were required. The MEDIA programme had to be adapted to developments in technology and the market, to reflect the consequences of digitisation. MEDIA 2007 also had to address the problems of audiovisual professionals in the new EU countries; include innovative, targeted action in the field of digitisation; and offer measures to facilitate access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses.
The overall objectives of MEDIA 2007 have been decided on the basis of these requirements.
Objectives
- to preserve and enhance European cultural diversity and its cinematographic and audiovisual heritage, guarantee accessibility to this for Europeans and promote intercultural dialogue;
- to increase the circulation of European audiovisual works inside and outside the European Union
- to strengthen the competitiveness of the European audiovisual sector in the framework of an open and competitive market.
Measures funded under MEDIA 2007 must:
- take account of both the importance of the creative process in the European audiovisual sector and the cultural value of Europe's cinematographic and audiovisual heritage.
- strengthen the production structures of small businesses to make the European audiovisual sector more competitive, as they constitute its core. This will mean contributing to the spread of a business culture for the sector and facilitating private investment.
- reduce imbalances between European countries with a high audiovisual production capacity and countries with low production capacity or a restricted linguistic area. This priority responds to the need to preserve and enhance cultural diversity and inter-cultural dialogue in Europe. It will foster transparency and competition on the single market, and thereby potential economic growth for the whole Union.
To read the full text of the Decision, which sets out the Programme's objectives and action lines click here
From Proposal to Council Decision: the Process
The process of designing the programme to succeed MEDIA Plus and MEDIA Training started, as with any other legislative process in the EU, with the European Commission proposing the new legislation in the form of an official proposal.
A series of consultations with the stakeholders was undertaken prior to the publication of the Proposal. The proposal was then discussed by the Audiovisual Working Group of the Council and the Culture Committee of the European Parliament.
In November 2005, under the UK Presidency, the Council of the European Union adopted a partial political agreement on the MEDIA 2007 Proposal. This meant that the scope, priorities, aims, areas of support as well as the modus operandi for the new Programme were agreed between the main EU institutions: the Commission, the Council and the Parliament. The remaining item to agree at a later date was the budget for the Programme, proposed at €1.055m. This could not be have been achieved unless the overall EU budget for 2007-2013 was adopted, which was not until the EU Council summit in December 2005.
The European Union Council of Ministers' political agreement on MEDIA 2007 was adopted on 18 May and foresees a €755 million budget for seven years. The final budget is substantially less than the amount in the Commission's original proposal (€1.055 million). Nonetheless the budget still provides for a critical mass, although all schemes will be subject to re-evaluation.
The MEDIA 2007: Main points
The new MEDIA Programme aims to make the European industry more competitive, increase the international circulation of European audiovisual products and both preserve and enhance European cultural diversity.
It also preserves the current approach that focuses public intervention on the stages before and after production. Therefore the current priority lines: training, development, distribution and promotion will be carried over to the new Programme.
In addition to this, the new "system-wide" features of the new Programme will be to mainstream the integration of digital technologies and to provide a comprehensive approach to access to financing for SMEs.
Pilot Projects will be continued as a successful test bed. The results will be publicised widely to encourage the dissemination of best practices by means of conferences and events on-line and off-line.
The EU will continue to participate in the European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) to ensure that operators have access to financial and legal statistics and information as well as enabling the Programme to be monitored more effectively and making it easier to evaluate.
In terms of delivery and user-friendliness the Proposal sets out a range of improvements:
- A single integrated Programme instead of the two Programmes, MEDIA Training and MEDIA Plus, which currently exist;
- Simplification of the application forms and procedures;
- The proportionality principle in granting funding;
- Implementation and management of the Programme to be carried out by an Executive Agency with the Commission concentrating on policy issues.
While the majority of the existing schemes will be carried over from the existing Programme (subject to re-evaluation), the Commission intends to launch certain new initiatives during MEDIA 2007:
Training
- A new approach to involve permanent establishments in the member states.
Development
- Support for structuring financial plans for European production and co-production projects. This new support aims to facilitate access to finance for SMEs and attract private investment into the industry.
Distribution
- Distribution Online
- Project-based support for a basic promotion kit;
- Support for broadcasters (as international distributors) for dubbing and subtitling;
- "Slate" scheme for distributors.
Promotion
- New actions that aim at improving access to European audiovisual works for the European and international public by supporting networking amongst national promotion bodies.
Access to Finance
MEDIA 2007 will aim to improve the European audiovisual SMEs access to finance by expanding on the existing i2i Growth and Audiovisual scheme, which helps European producers finance their projects by bank borrowing. The scheme is expected to be rolled out to benefit ohter sectors such as exhibition and distribution.
As soon as further details are available about the work programme and publication of Calls for Proposals for MEDIA 2007 they will be uploaded on these pages. You can also subscribe to receive updates by e-mail.