Jan TRUSZCZYNSKI, European Commission Director-General for Education and Culture, and Doris Pack (EPP, DE), President of the Culture and Education Committee of the EP, make statements on the Lux Prize 2010, at Place Flagey, in Brussels.

Brussels

statement

LUX Cinema Prize 2010 (T)

PACK, Doris (EPP, DE)

Lux Prize 2010: statements by Jan TRUSZCZYNSKI, European Commission Director-General for Education and Culture, and Doris Pack (EPP, DE)

SOUNDBITE (French), Jan TRUSZCZYNSKI, European Commission Director-General for Education and Culture, The overall result of the media is mainly positive. The numbers I already mentioned prove it. However, we must always envisage making things better. We have to stay alert that the future programs help an industry that remains fragile. Indeed, even if the sector remains important in terms of employment, cultural exchange, the European audiovisual market remains fragmented. It has to face structural weaknesses, the cinema industry has been for a long time and in a chronic manner undercapitalised.

SOUNDBITE (French), Jan TRUSZCZYNSKI, European Commission Director-General for Education and Culture, With the crisis and the reduction of credit all over Europe, the access in investment has become a real challenge for a considerable number of producers. That for the Commission has called last January for manifestation of interest in order to select one or more organisations susceptible to manage a fund, a fond destined to guarantee the loans attributed to producers by local banks. The fund will be set up following this summer.

SOUNDBITE (French), Jan TRUSZCZYNSKI, European Commission Director-General for Education and Culture, Another important subject affects every sector today and that is digitalisation. After having launched many pilot projects and having involved a group of experts, the Commission has launched a public consultation on the opportunities and challenges for the European cinema in the digital era. The results have just been published online. On this basis, the Commission is in the middle of preparing a communiqu&eacute; that will define our policy on the matter and will be tasked to create a favourable environment for digital deployment and the diffusion of European films in this new framework.

SOUNDBITE (French), Jan TRUSZCZYNSKI, European Commission Director-General for Education and Culture, As regards to the program's future and its renewal, many exercises are underway. We just received the evaluation report for the Media 2007 program. The conclusions of this report will be used during our reflection that envisages proposing the renewal of this program beyond 2013. This new program has to be built with all our partners and of course with the concerned professionals. This is the reason for the launching of a public consultation between today and the end of the year.

SOUNDBITE (French), Doris PACK (EPP, DE), President of EP Committee on Culture and Education, I would like to highlight some symbolic features. We are the only institution that occupies itself with the UNESCO cultural convention regarding cultural excellence. It is indeed our duty to make it clear to every Commissioner, those of Competition, of Digital Agenda included, that this convention has to be respected not only in the EU but inside our markets as well.

SOUNDBITE (French), Doris PACK (EPP, DE), President of EP Committee on Culture and Education, The Lux Prize helps bringing to the foreground questions positioned in the heart of the European public debate: public liberty, justice, solidarity, love, difference. Each film of the Lux Prize selection is a sensitive window that opens to Europeans, their daily life and their identity search. Contributing to remove the language barrier that prohibits the European films circulation in the internal market is the main goal.

SOUNDBITE (French), Doris PACK (EPP, DE), President of EP Committee on Culture and Education, It has also become a communication instrument between the European Parliament and the public, which is to my opinion far better to papers that nobody reads, it attracts people and I find it very pleasant.