Brussels, 17/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 16 May, the European ministers for audiovisuals and Commissioner Viviane Reding took part in “Europe Day”, part of the 58th Cannes Film Festival, which was this year given over to “Europe's Cinema and the Information Society”. The ministers and the Commissioner published a declaration stressing the need for the European cinema industry to adapt to the latest technologies to take advantage of the opportunities offered by on-line film. The rise in power of on-line film provides major possibilities, for access to new audiences and for greater circulation of European films, including on the European markets, they stress. Members of the public who, for reasons of mobility or access, are unable to visit the cinema, will be able to view films they would not otherwise be able to see, by Internet. However, this new approach to film does not mean the end of conventional cinemas, and “the collective experience of watching a film in a cinema will remain an important medium”, the declaration stresses. This new medium, though, will reinforce the public's taste for films and provide additional revenue to the cinema industry. On-line film also has huge potential for access providers: “high-quality content is a driving force for the broad band industry”, the declaration points out. However, legal services must be fostered, to provide Internet service providers with extra income: the declaration recommends agreements between those who own the rights and those who provide access, and management systems for digital rights, guaranteeing a high level of security and helping to fight piracy. There is also an urgent need to open a substantial dialogue between the cinema industry and on-line service providers in order to make sure that on-line distribution takes place within a legal framework, because “there is a risk of a disastrous loss of revenue if the market becomes inundated by shared files and unauthorised films, as we have seen with music”. To fight this, the ministers and the Commissioner feels that an educational programme on the importance of intellectual property rights “is often more efficient than telling people not to do something”. “The European film sector must adapt to new opportunities (…). Here, there is now the opportunity for the European film community to regain ground lost over fifty years as a result of fragmentation”, Ms Reding warned. She promised: “The Commission will investigate the possibilities of designing funding mechanisms (for example, through Media 2007) for on-line distribution and to encourage the digitisation of new audiovisual works for on-line distribution”.