MEDIA new entry
Switzerland will be taking part in the European Union’s MEDIA Plus and MEDIA Training programmes until the end of 2005, with a possible extension to the end of 2006. It will be paying CHF 5.8m a year (around €3.8m) for its participation in the schemes. The bilateral negotiations have just been finalised and the Federal Office for Cultural (a part of the Swiss Federal Home Office Department, the DFI) says it’s happy about the deal. In fact, this new agreement should improve the opportunities for the spread of European cinema in Switzerland, and vice versa, as well as paving the way for more co-productions and improving training opportunities for Swiss filmmakers.
But Switzerland’s participation in the MEDIA programmes calls for an adjustment to the legislation covering television under the EU “Television without frontiers” directive. The requirements governing the spread of European and independent productions have to be enshrined into the Swiss legal framework, even though Switzerland has already signed the European Council’s Convention on Television without Frontiers, and up until now, programme suppliers have already been respecting the minimum quota of 50% for European works.
(Translated from French)
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