Brussels, 24/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - Taking note of European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht's assurances, French Minister for Trade Nicole Bricq has stressed the intransigence of France on the exclusion of audiovisual services from the negotiations.
De Gucht “is beginning to get the measure of the determination of France and its European partners, as well as of the professionals' concern”, Bricq and French Minister for Culture Aurélie Filippetti state in a press release published on Tuesday 23 April - the day after assurances given by De Gucht that the “cultural exception is not up for negotiation” as part of the transatlantic free trade agreement. On Monday, De Gucht spoke out to say that audiovisual services will not be included in the Commission's negotiating mandate. This was in response to a petition signed by a large number of European film-makers, led by the Belgian film directors Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne.
“France has placed an essential condition on its agreement” on De Gucht's mandate - in other words, “the full respect of the cultural exception, and the pure and simple exclusion of the audiovisual sector”, Bricq and Filippetti warned. They added: “the mandate must therefore be changed to pull it away from the commissioner's ambiguity. No other solution is acceptable”. “France will not give way. The exclusion of audiovisual services is not negotiable. A declaration of principle is not enough”, they conclude (our translation).
Fifteen national centres for European cinema (those of Austria, Belgium - Wallonia and Flanders, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) also addressed a joint letter to the Commission this week, requesting that the audiovisual sector be “entirely excluded from the scope of the EU trade agreements”. On Wednesday, the European Coalitions for cultural diversity added their support to the European film-makers' petition. “Any negotiation on cultural policies would be an unacceptable setback for Europe”, which has signed and ratified the 2005 UNESCO convention on the protection and of the diversity of cultural expressions, they state. (EH/transl.fl)