The audiovisual sector contributes to achieving the goals of the Lisbon Agenda, namely to boost competitiveness, skills, growth and jobs in a knowledge-based economy. It plays a major role in the context of the i2010 initiative — the policy umbrella for the European information society and media policies — in the framework of the Lisbon Agenda.

The European Parliament has consistently emphasised that the audiovisual sector makes an important contribution to the European creative and knowledge economy and plays a central role in promoting cultural diversity and pluralism, as well as being an important platform for freedom of speech.

The cultural and creative sectors contribute substantially to the European cultural economy and in 2004 creative industries employed at least 5,8 million people, equivalent to 3,1 % of the total employed EU-25 population.

Community support to the audiovisual sector takes into account Article 151 of the Treaty, which states that the Community and the Member States shall foster cooperation with third countries and the competent international organisations in the sphere of culture, and that the Community shall take cultural aspects into account in its action, in particular in order to respect and to promote the diversity of its cultures.

In its resolution of 16 November 2007 on a European Agenda for Culture4, the Council considered that culture was a vital element of international relations and underlined the need to enhance its role in the EU’s external relations and development policy. The European Parliament, in its resolution of 10 April 2008 on a European agenda for culture in a globalising world, also underlined, with respect to the Unesco Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the importance of integrating a cultural dimension into all policies and programmes, including external policies and development.

On 21 November 2008 the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, adopted conclusions on the promotion of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue in the external relations of the Union and its Member States5.

The Commission’s communication of 8 June 2006 on ‘Europe in the world’ emphasises the inextricable link between the EU’s internal and external policies, and stresses that Europe has the potential to share in the new opportunities created by emerging markets and globalisation, as it has an open society that can absorb people, ideas and new technologies.

The European Union was a major player in the process leading to the adoption of the Unesco Convention on the Protection and the Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions which entered into force on 18 March 2007, following the ratification by the European Community and 13 Member States on 18 December 2006. The Convention’s aim is to strengthen international cooperation and solidarity so as to favour the cultural expressions of all countries. According to Article 12(e) of the Convention, parties to the Convention ‘shall encourage the conclusion of co-production and co-distribution agreements’.

A number of Member State activities aim at increasing cooperation between European and third countries’ audiovisual industries, such as international co-production funds and co-production treaties. Community support will be complementary to such actions.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in Article 11, recognises freedom of expression and pluralism of the media.

The evaluation report of the MEDIA Plus programme identified the importance of international markets to overcoming the problems of the European audiovisual industry.

The international audiovisual landscape has changed significantly over the last two decades and is currently facing new challenges, notably under the impact of technological developments such as digital cinema projection, video on demand (VOD) or multi-channel digital television. This has created strong financial growth and promising investments and, consequently, a strong and growing demand for more audiovisual content, offering numerous opportunities to companies. Accordingly, there is a strong and increasing interest in developing projects relating to the various digital applications. In addition, there is a strong link between international cooperation on projects and the Union’s ability to promote in the world its regulatory model on audiovisual issues and the convergence between audiovisual and electronic communications.

Given the increasing importance of the international dimension of audiovisual policy, the European Parliament, on 13 December 2007, adopted, in the 2008 budget, a preparatory action MEDIA International, that focuses on developing the Union’s relations with third-country audiovisual markets and provides the opportunity for structuring and strengthening relations and networks between European and third-country professionals in the audiovisual sector, for the mutual benefit of the European industry and the third countries involved. The subsequent call for proposals attracted great interest from both European and third-country professionals. Eighteen projects were selected for support. The first year of the preparatory action MEDIA International thus confirmed the sector’s interests and needs in the international field and the necessity for Community action.

The European Parliament renewed the preparatory action MEDIA International with an increased budget for 2009.

On 19 May 2008, at an informal gathering in Cannes, ministers responsible for audiovisual matters from a number of Member States welcomed the European Parliament’s initiative on the preparatory action MEDIA International and encouraged the Commission ‘to pursue the development of this initiative and to examine the desirability and the possibility of presenting a proposal for a support programme to promote cooperation between European audiovisual industry professionals and industry professionals in third countries for the mutual benefit of all participants’.

An open public consultation demonstrated strong support for strengthened cooperation between European and third-country professionals in the audiovisual sector, notably in the fields of training, the facilitation of co-productions, distribution and circulation of audiovisual works (including new platforms, such as VOD, and Internet protocol television (IPTV)) and film literacy.

Access to audiovisual markets in third countries should be facilitated by disseminating market knowledge among professionals operating in those markets and by creating networks between them. For those purposes, projects to provide training should be supported within the framework of a programme.

The distribution sector determines the diversity of audiovisual works on offer and consumer choice. European distributors are small companies, and because of the structure and fragmentation of the market, they are, unlike their large vertically-integrated competitors, ill equipped for gaining access to international markets. Furthermore, new players and distribution platforms have emerged, boosting or requiring more audiovisual content. It is therefore appropriate to take measures to improve the distribution, circulation and exhibition of European works in third countries and those of third countries within Europe.

There is therefore a need to establish a Community programme for the audiovisual sector, providing financial support to projects in the fields of information exchange and training, competitiveness, distribution, circulation and exhibition of audiovisual content.

In order to ensure the maximum mutual benefit and to simplify administration, projects under the programme should be proposed and implemented jointly by professionals from the European Union and from third countries and should promote international networking. In order to simplify administration, projects should be coordinated by a professional established in a country participating in the programme.

Appropriate measures should be drawn up and implemented to prevent irregularities and fraud and to recover funds which have been lost or transferred or used improperly.

It is appropriate to lay down, for the entire duration of the programme, a financial envelope constituting the prime reference for the budgetary authority, within the meaning of point 37 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management6.

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission7.

The arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the programme should include detailed annual reports as well as specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound objectives and indicators.

Since the objectives of this Decision cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, given the transnational and international character of the proposed actions, and can therefore, by reason of the scale and effects of those actions, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives,