18/02/2003 - Our online daily presented to Culture Commission: paise for the comprehensive nature of the information supplied & the values Cineuropa stands for

The European Parliament yesterday opened its doors for the official presentation of our online daily, Cineuropa.org and the Europanet project (run by Invideo) whereby readers can access the latest European films as they are actually being made.
The President of the EU’s Culture and Media Commission, Michel Rocard, invited the editors-in-chief of Cineuropa to Brussels to give a live presentation of the daily ebb and flow of news, and a number of other recently established services like Makings of from European film sets. The potential of the web site and the public and private partnerships that have been established with a number of European states were also described and discussed.
Only six months after its launch, the Cineuropa project for an online daily at the service of the European cinema – made possible by the hard work and effort of the MEDIA Programme and the Italian Ministry for Culture - has revealed itself to be a dynamic and highly efficient vehicle for communicating and creating awareness of the European audiovisual system.
Taking part in yesterday’s debate at the European Parliament’s Commission for Culture were MEPs Hieronimy (PPE - Germany), Alabanos (GUE - Greece), Wyn (Green Party – Great Britain) and Prets (PS – Austria), as well as President Rocard. They were unanimous in their praise for the fully comprehensive nature of the information supplied, as well as the values that Cineuropa.org represents. The members of the Commission were particularly interested in the 20-plus Europanet's "Makings of" from as many European film sets that can currently be accessed by clicking on our website. They expressed their appreciation for the attention the site dedicates to all the countries of Europe, be they large or small, and especially to the numerous developing film industries which were frequently the subjects of news items and articles.

Significantly, the MEPs at this meeting – each of whom belongs to a different political party - united in promising both their ongoing support – and, importantly, that of their respective governments, for our web site. Having been granted the support of France, Belgium’s French-speaking community, and Spain, the coming weeks will see countries like Austria, Germany (the north Rhine –Westphalia Lander), Switzerland and Greece join Cineuropa’s activities, that are made possible thanks also to the support of European Film Promotion.