Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council, 25/11/2014, 25 November 2014

Council addresses European audiovisual policy in the digital era

At its meeting in Brussels on 25 November, the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council adopted conclusions on European audiovisual policy in the digital era.

These conclusions acknowledge the profound effect that the digital revolution has had on the audiovisual landscape. They highlight the need for a dynamic single market for audiovisual content that meets the demand of citizens, content providers, and right holders, while ensuring cultural and linguistic diversity.

The conclusions define three main goals:

• facilitating supply of high quality content
• meeting audience demand by ensuring timely, cross-border access to content
• ensuring equal conditions for all audiovisual media service providers

In addition, they address the new business environment, access to finance, public funding, media and film literacy, and film heritage. They also call for an urgent review of the Audiovisual Media Services directive and for the modernisation of the EU copyright framework.

Other main items on the agenda

Ministers adopted conclusions establishing a Work Plan for Culture (2015-2018). This Work Plan sets four priority areas: accessible culture, cultural heritage, creative economy and innovation, and cultural diversity. These are complemented by two cross-sectorial themes: digital shift and statistics.

The Council also adopted conclusions on:

• participatory governance of cultural heritage
• sport as a driver of innovation and economic growth

Ministers held a discussion on the contribution of cultural and creative sectors to the Europe 2020 objectives, in the context of the mid-term review of this strategy. They also debated possible measures to promote sport and physical activity at school age.