Brussels, 10/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - Speaking on 7 September in Venice, during the 7th Euromed cinema conference, focused on the theme of "the circulation of European cinema films ", Viviane Reding, the European Culture Commissioner, stressed the need to have an active European policy to contend with the US cinema industry. She also referred to the copyright-related implications of the Internet.
"In order to promote understanding and to ensure the smooth functioning of our society, citizens and cultural and language communities in Europe have to continue to enjoy the right and ability to reflect their own experiences via the cinema. Against this background I am preparing a Communication on the cinema for adoption by the Commission in late September, ", said the Commissioner, adding that the report would consider in particular several issues bound up with the protection of heritage and the exploitation of audiovisual works, and not least the question of registering these works, the creation of a registration system and a database on the rights relating to these works. She claimed the European cinema's development hinges in particular on national financial support measures (in keeping with competition law), additional European-level measures under the MEDIA Plus programme, plus the "joint action of the Commission and the EIB to promote private investment and measures…) for improving legal security and facilitating the production and distribution of audiovisual works throughout the EU. "
As for the revision of the 'Television without frontiers " Directive, she believes this type of review should "cover a broader field than just television: it should apply to all systems for distributing audiovisual content and give rise to open consultations between all stakeholders."
Commissioner Reding, believes the audiovisual industry should not become
an issue in the Doha negotiations.
Speaking on 7 September 7 in Venice, during a conference organised by the British Screen Advisory Council and Eurocinema, about the WTO ministerial meeting being planned for Doha, Commissioner Reding re-emphasised that Europeans feel the WTO is not an appropriate forum for discussing cultural policies.
The EU recognises that during the talks on services, no services are excluded out of hand from the Doha negotiations. Five countries have presented the WTO with negotiating positions that directly or indirectly affect audiovisual services (the United States, Japan, Switzerland, Canada and Brazil: see EUROPE of 25 July, p.16), but audiovisual services represents one of the few issues on which the EU has not unveiled any negotiating position. Commissioner Reding says the EU does not want the audiovisual industry to become a negotiating issue. "We do not believe that deregulation via trade talks is a suitable way of promoting trade that pays respect to cultural diversity, » she stressed, adding that "the WTO is not the proper place to discuss cultural issues. It is neither competent nor entitled to consider such matters. Other fora, such as UNESCO or the Council of Europe are available for this purpose,", concluded the Commissioner.