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Audiovisual sector: cooperation programme with professionals from third countries, MEDIA Mundus

2008/0258(COD)

PURPOSE: to establish an audiovisual cooperation programme with professionals from third countries (MEDIA Mundus) for the period 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision No 1041/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of establishing an audiovisual cooperation programme with professionals from third countries (MEDIA Mundus).

CONTENT: following an agreement reached in first reading, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a decision establishing the MEDIA Mundus programme. The programme, which has a budget of EUR 15 million for the period 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013 will fund international cooperation projects in the audiovisual sector.

Objective of the programme: the aims of the MEDIA Mundus programme are to increase the competitiveness of the European audiovisual industry, to enable Europe to play its cultural and political role in the world more effectively and to increase consumer choice and cultural diversity. The programme will seek to improve access to third-country markets and to build trust and long-term working relationships.

Specific objectives of the programme: the programme also has three specific objectives which may be summarised as follows:

1)      Specific Objective 1: information exchange, training and market intelligence: in the field of information exchange and training, the operational objective of the programme shall be to strengthen the skills of European and third-country professionals, notably by: i) improving professionals’ understanding, in particular, of the operating conditions, legal frameworks (including in the area of intellectual property rights), financing systems and cooperation possibilities of their respective audiovisual markets; ii) securing and facilitating audiovisual cooperation between professionals by improving their level of knowledge of audiovisual markets; iii) facilitating networking and the emergence of long-term working relationships, in particular through scholarships; or iv) supporting initial and continuous professional training;

2)      Specific Objective 2: competitiveness and distribution: the operational objectives of the programme shall be to i) facilitate the search for third-country partners for European works (in particular, with a view to supporting the organisation of coproduction markets, ...); ii) encourage international sales and promotion of European works in third-country markets and of audiovisual works from third countries in Europe;

3)      Specific Objective 3: circulation: to improve the circulation and visibility of European works in third countries via the following actions: i) encourage cinema operators in European and third countries to reciprocally increase the programming and exhibition conditions of exclusive first releases of audiovisual works; ii) increase the supply of audiovisual content and improve broadcasting and distribution conditions for audiovisual works from third countries on European distribution channels and for European works through international distribution channels; iii) facilitate the organisation of events and film literacy initiatives, notably aimed at young audiences.

The annex to the decision outlines the types of action to be implemented under each objective.

Scope of the programme: the programme is targeted at European and third-country professionals in the audiovisual sector.

Conditions for participation in the programme: in order to be eligible for funding under the programme, projects shall be proposed and implemented jointly by European and third-country professionals. Each project shall have a minimum of three partners. However, projects with only two partners may be admitted where the necessary networking is guaranteed. Each project shall be coordinated by a European professional and shall include at least one partner from a third country.

Financial arrangements: financial aid may take the form of grants (reimbursable in respect of the programme’s contribution, excluding support for dubbing/subtitling) or scholarships. Depending on the nature of the activity, flat-rate financing or the use of scales of unit costs may be authorised. In any event, funding under the programme may not exceed 50% of the final costs of the project to be funded. However, under certain exceptional circumstances, funding may be as high as 80%. In-kind contributions of the beneficiaries may also be envisaged.

Implementation of the programme: the Commission is responsible for implementing the programme, in accordance with the provisions laid down in the annex of the decision. In accordance with the management committee procedure the Commission shall draw up i) an annual plan of work, including priorities, ii) an annual internal breakdown of the programme resources, including the breakdown between measures in the different fields, iii) the general guidelines for implementing the programme, iv) the content of the calls for proposals, the definition of the criteria and the procedures for the selection of projects.

Upon Parliament’s request and under the terms of the compromise reached in first reading, the management committee procedure will also apply for the selection of proposals for the allocation of Community funds in excess of:

  • EUR 200 000 per beneficiary per year, in the case of specific objective 1,
  • EUR 300 000 per beneficiary per year, in the case of specific objective 2,
  • EUR 300 000 per beneficiary per year, in the case of specific objective 3.

Contribution of the programme to other Community policies and principles: MEDIA Mundus shall help to strengthen the Community’s horizontal policies and principles (e.g. by contributing to the debate on, and information about the Union as an area of peace, prosperity and security, promoting the fundamental principle of freedom of expression and encouraging awareness of the importance of cultural diversity, common values, intercultural dialogue and multilingualism in the world...).

Monitoring and evaluation: the Commission shall monitor the projects regularly. It shall present a series of reports to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions (a communication on the possible continuation of the programme by 31 January 2012, and an ex post evaluation report by 31 December 2015).

ENTRY INTO FORCE: the decision enters into force on 24.11.2009. It is applicable from 1 January 2011.