http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/757&format=HTM http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2011_state_aid_films/issues_pa... Press release + Issues paper and associated consultation (ending 30.09.2011) Some significant elements: - The issues paper is available also in ODF - Volume of support and production: (11) The EU Member States provide an estimated €2.3 billion per year in film support: €1.3 billion in grants and soft loans, €1 billion in tax incentives1. Around 80% of this is for film production. (12) The EU has become one of the largest producers of films in the world: 1,168 feature films were produced in the EU in 2009 (compared to 677 produced in the US and 456 produced in China)2. The main Member States providing film support are France, UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. - Competition to attract large production from US companies (29) As mentioned in paragraph (5), in 2009, the Commission had identified "competition among some Member States to use State aid to attract inward investment from large-scale, mainly US, film production companies" (ie, a subsidy race) as a trend which would require some refinement of the State aid assessment criteria. This trend appears to have continued since then. (30) International film production companies, mainly based in the US, operate on a global basis and are able to choose between a very wide range of alternative locations. Blockbusters and other major international productions are extremely mobile. Nature of support : Should the current maximum overall aid intensity remain as 50% of the production budget, with higher aid intensities for difficult and low budget films? If activities other than production are to be covered by the Communication as well, would it be appropriate to set the maximum overall aid intensity as 50% of the total project budget (covering script-writing, development, pre-production, principal photography, post-production, distribution, promotion and marketing costs)? Digital revolution : (54) The existing structures and business models present a problem of over-production of European films compared to the demand for such films which can be satisfied using conventional distribution practices. So perhaps it is opportune for Europe to explore innovative alternatives applying the internet and digital production and distribution techniques. It is worth noting that most of the independent filmmakers successfully using these alternative approaches are based in the US. and last not but least: Should conditions on production support be imposed to encourage a smooth digital transition, such as ensuring that a digital master is produced and requiring that publicly-funded works are released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike1 licences? Should distribution support cover distribution on all platforms (ie, not only, for example, for releasing in cinemas)?