EUU, Alm.del - 2011-12 - Bilag 485: Regeringens høringssvar vedr. Kommissionens høring om statsstøtte til film og andre audiovisuelle værker

Contribution from the Danish government on the draft Communication from the Euro-pean Commissions on State aid for films and other audiovisual worksThe Danish government welcomes the European Commissions consultation on the draftCommunication on State aid for films and other audiovisual work. To fulfil the potential– both economic and cultural – of the film and audiovisual industry in the MemberStates it is necessary to have contemporary State aid assessment criteria for support forproducing films and audiovisual works.In general the Danish government recommends that a new Communication will be inline with the development in the film and audiovisual industry and the effects of thedigital revolution on the industry. This without losing the focus on European films as astrong cultural product which creates a unique cultural diversity among the MemberStates.In general the Danish government would like to draw the Commissions attention to theconcerns expressed by the industry. It is crucial for a new Communication that it re-flects the reality of the industry. A new Communication should be a lift for the industryinto a new world of digital challenges. All for the best of a strong European film produc-tion based on the cultural diversity of Europe.More specific the Danish government would like to comment on to the following topicsin the draft Communication:Scope of activitiesAs mentioned by the Commission some Member States offer support for activities otherthan film and audiovisual production, including film distribution and film promotion,which are not covered by the current Cinema Communication.The Danish government therefore welcomes the extension of the scope of the CinemaCommunication to cover the whole value chain of a film production from development toproduction and consumption.

It is though the opinion of the Danish government that there still is a need to reconsiderthe definition of audiovisual works covered by State aid criteria of the current CinemaCommunication which are limited to films and TV productions. Here there is a need toincorporate new types of audiovisual works such as cross-media and video-on-demand.In particular interactive works such as video games should be assessed using the samecriteria as for films and televisions productions.Territorial spending obligationsThe current Cinema Communication allows Member States to insist that up to 80% ofthe production budget of a subsidised film production is spent in the Member State of-fering the aid. The proposal from the Commission is that Members States may requirethat up to 100 % of the aid awarded to the production is spent in the territory offeringthe aid.This could threaten the stability of the European public support to the audiovisual sec-tor and the ability of Member States to develop and adopt policies and strategies tomeet the future challenges of the sector. It could in worst case lead to a reduction infunds to support films and other audiovisual works.We therefore encourage the Commission not to over regulate on this subject.Competition to attract major foreign productionsThe Commission is expressing concern on competition among Member States to usestate aid to attract inward investment from large scale, mainly US, film productioncompanies.The Danish government is not aware of the extent of the use of public subsidies thatcould lead to a subsidy race among the Member States. But a higher transparency forthese schemes could be needed as an overview of the numbers of European and US filmsthat are subsidised by these schemes.On this question the Commission should be aware of not disturbing the conditions forEuropean co-production and bilateral treaties with third countries.Improving circulation of European films and audience choiceThe Danish government generally supports the Commission's intention to simplifyclearance, administration and licensing of IPR across borders, adapting rights-management in the light of technological development and to facilitate the digitizationand dissemination of cultural works in Europe, including the promotion of onlinedistribution of audiovisual works. In this regard the Danish government emphasis theimportance that initiatives at European level balance these considerations withthe interests of relevant stakeholders, such as consumers, rights holders, contentproducers and providers.