EUROPEAN AUDIOVISUAL SECTOR-MEDIA 2007
Letter from Shaun Woodward MP, Minister
for Creative Industries and Tourism, Department for Culture, Media
and Sport to the Chairman
I am writing to inform you that at the recent
General Affairs Council on 12 February the Commission was granted
the mandate to negotiate with Switzerland regarding the latter's
participation in the MEDIA 2007 funding programme.
Switzerland participated in the previous Community
programmes, MEDIA Plus and MEDIA Training. These two programmes
were subsumed into one programme to support the European audiovisual
industry during the financial perspective of 2007-13; the MEDIA
2007 programme came into force on 1 January 2007.
Participation in MEDIA 2007 is open to European
third countries party to the Convention of the Council of Europe
on Transfrontier Television. Switzerland signed the Convention
in 1989. The opening-up of the Programme to such European third
countries is subject to prior examination as to the compatibility
of their national legislation with the Community acquis,
in both its internal and external dimensions.
Therefore, Switzerland will be required to provide
the necessary guarantees concerning the convergence of their audiovisual
policy with Community policy, both internally and externally.
The agreement will provide for the terms and
conditions of Switzerland's participation in the MEDIA 2007 and,
in particular, its financial contribution to the programme budget.
Switzerland must accept the Community rules concerning the financial
contribution, including those concerning audits by Community authorities.
The negotiations on the Agreement are expected
to be concluded quickly to allow Switzerland to be able to benefit
from this programme at the earliest opportunity. The Agreement
is expected to cover the period until the expiry of the MEDIA
2007 programme on 31 December 2013.
We will, of course, provide you with an Explanatory
Memorandum setting out the content of the final Agreement prior
to it being approved by Council.
8 March 2007
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