Brussels, 12/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Commission's communication on the legal aspects relating to the cinema industry in Europe, adopted on 26 September and presented to the Audiovisual Council of 5 November prevents the European cinema industry from being competitive, notably faced with the United States, and contradicts other European policies like the MEDIA PLUS prgramme and even encouraging initiatives like the possibility of turning to aid from the EIB to support and develop the European film industry as a whole. This is the content of a letter recently sent by EFCA (European Film Companies Alliance) to Commissioners Mario Monti (competition) and Viviane Reding (Audivisual), who took the initiative of presenting the communication (see EUROPE of 29 September, p.13).
In addition, EFCA explains, "the establishment of the "fallacious" distinction between "commercial" and "cultural" based on budget or the "difficulty" of a film blatantly contradicts the position of the EU in the context of multilateral trade negotiations by restricting the ability of the EU to develop its cultural policy and promote cultural diversity. For EFCA, the European competition authorities are playing into the hands of the US trade negotiators "who will be keen to exploit these new policy guidelines to restrict the way aid should be allocated in the future." EFCA thus calls on the Commission to properly consult the sector concerned and states that the 50% threshold (aid intensity in relation to the production budget) may be valid only in some national territories.