Brussels, 21/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has launched a public consultation, on Monday 20 June, as the first step of a review of the criteria used to apply EU state aid rules to member states' financial support for making and distributing films.
Assessment of state aid to the cinema industry is currently governed by the rules set by the Commission communication of 2001, which was extended in 2009 (see EUROPE 8059 and 9828). The criteria that apply, and will be valid until 31 December 2012, date, then, from almost 10 years ago.
The issues on which stakeholders are to respond by 30 September include: - competition among some member states which use state aid to attract inward investment from large-scale, mainly US, film production companies; - support for areas other than film and TV production (such as film distribution and digital projection); - whether the specific rules on state aid in the audiovisual sector can or should be adapted for new technologies, new creative concepts and changing consumer behaviour.
Every year, EU member states - mainly the largest states - provide an estimated €2.3 billion in aid to the film sector: €1.3 billion in grants and soft loans and €1 billion in tax incentives. Around 80% of this is for film production. (F.G./transl.rt)