Brussels, 23/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Members of the European cinema industry, meeting in Germany last week at the Berlin International Film Festival, expressed their concern at the European Union withdrawal from funding of films. In a joint statement to the European Commission, the EFAD (European Film Agency Directors) calls for the MEDIA programme to be maintained, for it to be independent and to have a budget in line with its mission which is to lead to an ambitious and coherent cultural and cinema policy for Europe. Film makers especially fear a decline in the MEDIA programme if it were to be merged with other Community programmes and are concerned about the room for budgetary manoeuvre enjoyed by MEDIA, currently the key to its effectiveness and its success since it was set up in 1991. Noting that MEDIA is at the heart of the European project and is a way of communicating and promoting the European values of openness, tolerance and diversity, EFAD calls on Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Education, Culture, Youth and Multilingualism Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou to maintain the programme's specific nature and its strength by keeping it independent and granting it sufficient funding to achieve its objectives. (I.L./transl.rt)