FIAD welcomes Council Conclusions that recall the crucial role of the the cultural & creative sector

With the European cultural and creative sector cautiously emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic it is vital that the Member States send a strong signal that they support the whole sector and acknowledge in particular the importance of the film sector that plays such a crucial role for Europe's economy and Europe's cultural story.

In particular, FIAD welcomes the below extracts of the Conclusions (find here) adopted on 4 April by the EU Member States that supports FIAD's policy ambitions in bold:

• Improving access to funding

  • "Facilitate access for CCIE enterprises, in particular independent companies, including the smallest ones, to public and private funding schemes, loans, guarantees, risk capital solutions and equity finance, taking into account the specificities of these businesses, and simplifying procedures.

• Maintaining territorial exclusivity:

  • “particular regard should be given in the audiovisual sector to co-productions and to the territoriality of rights, which are key to the sustainable financing of the sector and to distribution strategies."

• Promoting discoverability tools:

  • “Promoting strategic approaches on the online discoverability of European cultural content in all official EU languages, and in particular of independent works, building where appropriate on strong synergies with Europeana, Agorateka, the ERGA, Eurimages and the European Audiovisual Observatory."

  • "Developing a better understanding of the role of recommendation algorithms in promoting European works and reflecting on their transparency; and if appropriate proposing courses of action notably on standardisation, the provision of metadata, interoperability, and tools to facilitate audience access;"