Audiovisuals: Actio et Contemplatio
If
audiovisuals is to be included into a transatlantic trade deal, it makes sense
to formulate an EU Film Strategy proper, addressing issues of salience for the
industry: studios, film finance, education-nal aspects, distribution channels,
streamlining of film festivals with BAFTA
in more of a centrali-sing position, and the role of EBU/media regulator.
This
corresponds to a more strategic approach to the forging of a European public
sphere, launched by the Commission under its Green Paper on the development of
the European audiovisuals, which otherwise as well is in need of a
liberalization and standardization drive to spur business and inte-gration of European
media markets. The difficulty here resides in transforming the proposed Fran-co-German
marriage between film & media industry into something genuinely European,
without weakening regulatory oversight, even as the diffusion of quality television
programmes is reinfor-ced. Indeed, there may be lessons to be learned from the US film
industry, which is characterised by a boom and bust-economy. A single European E-Book Europe depositary
Library is relevant. On this basis, EU COM can then device ways of cutting
slack with the Member States through the EU-US FTA.
Provence is happy to receive funds for a film studio in any given genre. Film
finance could be provided out of Monaco
for certain segments, and else London.
If profitable, a Ferrari high-speed train between MIL-MC-NCE could then be
sized on to prod industrial renewal and alliances in the area, a mixture of
supermarket and environmental degradation amidst relative industrial decline.
It is a shame, this development wasn’t invented before.
The market
is then bound to make a move in response. And so, one could think of merging
Fran-ce24-Euronews-Arte –(Eurosport). EBU’s dual role as regulator and diffuser
would have to be ad-dressed at a later stage or up-front separate and
independently as professed by the EU COM. Until then, EBU consultants at Member
State-level could contribute to underpinning the common endea-vour in the name
of plural and competitive and increasingly inter-meshed European audiovisual
business sector, so as to ensure diffusion of quality programmes. The
MEDIA-programme is then to undergo a review and its profile sharpened.
In time,
European national carriers could be designated and made available through each Union
citi-zen’s television devices, so as to allow for a more balanced news coverage
and a more accessible EU, suggestive of Europe’s portend on the daily lives of
citizens, reflecting Europe’s linguistic tra-ditions and even testing the
Franco-German dualism’s viability. This will have to be backed-up by relevant
criteria and by public service deliverables such as a European Weather-report, a
Cultural What’s On-calendar, a Brussels Watch for local users, development of
simultaneous text transla-tion software as well as televised live debates of
certain political meetings.
ILCE DIXIT JUNE 2013
