Following the agreement reached by the Council (Audiovisual/Cultural Affairs) on 20 November 1995 (see Press Release 11717/95, Presse 329), the Council formally adopted a Decision on the implementation of a training programme for professionals in the European audiovisual programme industry (MEDIA II - Training). MEDIA II is scheduled to last 5 years from 1 January 1996.

The rapporteur pointed out that most of the amendments adopted by Parliament at first reading had been incorporated in the Council’s common position; however, she noted that the Council had taken a different stance on several points and had, in particular, reduced Community funding for training from 75% to 50%. Mrs ANDRE-LEONARD therefore proposed first and foremost restoring the budget of ECU 58 million and restoring the ceiling of 75% on Community funding of the total costs of a training programme. Finally, the rapporteur highlighted the need to pay greater attention to multimedia and to assess the efficiency of the programme on the basis of the number of jobs created. Commissioner GRADIN confirmed that the Commission was prepared to take over most of the amendments tabled at second reading, notably those concerning the development of multimedia and the funding of the programme, namely Amendments Nos 1, 2, 5 and 6. It could also take over other amendments that were consistent with the approach of the initial proposal: Amendments Nos 3 (on cooperation and synergies), 4 (on the complementarity of measures with the Member States), and 7 (on the production of films). Finally, the Commissioner stated that for institutional reasons she could not take over Amendment No 17, which provided for Parliament’s prior approval of the projects selected with a view to implementation of the programme.

The ESC endorsed the actions for training in economic and commercial management as it felt that the various European training centres were particularly weak in this area. It also endorsed the expediency of fostering networks of training bodies and providing study grants and work experience placements in companies in other Member States. It did, however, have some reservations regarding training on new technologies, particularly in the computer graphics sector, because of the high costs involved, their limited use and the fact that technical training was usually provided by the production industries. It would be better to set up one or two top-level European training centres for professionals who already had a good grasp of basic technology. The ESC would also favour training schemes for actors and technicians who provided dubbing services in order to facilitate the circulation of productions within the EU. Regarding the amount of funding available, the ESC felt that the maximum of ECU 100 000 per centre per annum was inadequate. It also pointed out that cultural pluralism would not be protected merely by involving specialised training institutes on a fair geographical basis. Regarding the final assessment of the programmes, the ESC felt that in addition to the various anti-fraud checks provided for, an anonymous assessment form should be issued to each student to fill in at the end of the course.

Mrs ANDRE-LEONARD noted that MEDIA II, whose main objectives were training, development and distribution, had been allocated funding of ECU 400 million, in other words twice as much as its predecessor. As regards the main amendments, she mentioned the amendment to the legal basis as the EP’s Committee on Culture felt that Article 128 of the Treaty was more appropriate than Article 127 in relation to the section on ‘development and distribution’. As far as the substance was concerned, the EP proposed, inter alia , the creation of a support system to enable distributors to reinvest in the distribution of new European films. The rapporteur concluded by quoting Martin Scorsese, who believed that the successes of Woody Allen and Quentin Tarantino could be explained by the influence of the films of Fellini and Bergmann respectively, as well as those of Melville. Commissioner Oreja stated that the Commission could take over, in full or in substance, Amendments Nos 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 on training; it could also take over in full Amendments Nos 3, 16, 20, 28, 29, 35, 37, 43 and 49 on development and distribution, and in substance Amendments Nos 2, 27, 31, 44 (support for distributors), 6, 18, 26, 34, 46, 47 (SMEs and countries with limited production capacity), 14, 23, 24, 25, 43 (promotion of archives and existing European audiovisual works), 12, 33 and 51 (establishment of catalogues of European audiovisual works). However, two issues had not been resolved: - support for the distribution of European films in cinemas, which strictly speaking was outside the scope of the programme’s objectives, given its limited budget in relation to the number of cinemas (more than 20 000) and the important role of the principle of subsidiarity in this area. In spite of this, the Commissioner was prepared to take over Amendments Nos 5, 8 and 44 on the issue. - the Commission’s choice of legal basis was Article 130 rather than Article 128(4), in accordance with the case-law of the Court of Justice, since the goal and the immediate impact of MEDIA II were essentially industrial.

Pending the opinion of the European Parliament, the Council held an initial discussion on the two proposals for decisions concerning the MEDIA II programme (1996-2000). At the end of the discussion, the Council instructed the ad hoc Working Party on the Audiovisual Sector and the Permanent Representatives Committee to continue examination of the Commission proposals in the light of the views expressed, so that the Council could take action at its June meeting. The Presidency noted that the following points in particular would require special attention in the course of examination: - the objective of a high Community added value and complementarity with action at national level; - the need for concentration of resources in the areas of development and training as well as that of distribution including cinema programming, while taking into account cultural and linguistic diversity and the circumstances of Member States with limited capacity in this respect; - establishment of management arrangements clarifying the respective roles of the Member States, the Commission and professionals in the field; - the need for effective interaction between the support provided by the MEDIA programme and the financial mechanism announced by the Commission; - organisation of a smooth transition from the actions carried out under the present programme. The MEDIA programme, the first phase of which has been running since 1991, is intended to encourage and develop the audiovisual programme industry in Europe . The Commission proposal provides for three main forms of support: training (the first proposal, based on Article 127 of the Treaty), development and distribution (second proposal, based on Article 130 of the Treaty). The second phase of the programme - MEDIA II - would have a funding of ECU 400 million for 5 years. Aid would be granted in the form of loans of up to 50% of the cost of the actions (except for aids to training which could be as much as 75% and would be granted as non-refundable subsidies).