FIA - EuroFIA

1-2 June 2007 - Bucharest, Romania

The last EuroFIA meeting was held in Bucharest, Romania, on 1-2 June 2007. The group focused on the follow up to the EU green paper on "Modernising Labour Law", as well as on the latest draft of the Audiovisual Media Services directive, the issue of state aid in the film industry and on the private copying remuneration schemes. EuroFIA members welcomed the EU Commission communication extending the state aid regime for the film industry in Europe until 2009, but stressed the need to watch out for any possible ban of “territoriality” clauses after this date – which make national funding available on condition that a minimum percentage of the production budget is spent where the aid is given.

Emphasis was put on the need to clarify the status of the artist and to build on existing sources - including the European Parliament Resolution and the UNESCO Recommendation on the Status of the Artist – to give the EU member States a better understanding of how much the spread of atypical work in the industry is affecting the livelihood of performers. The group equally discussed a project submitted to the European Commission in the context of the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, which focuses on the portrayal of 40 plus women in theatre and television. This project involves a qualitative and quantitative research on gender portrayal, as well as two awareness-raising conferences that will take place in Latvia and the UK in 2008.

Finally, EuroFIA decided to work on a model EU contract for dancers, harmonising their minimum terms and conditions. The next EuroFIA meeting will take place in November 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal.

24-25 November 2006 - Ljubljana, Slovenia

The last meeting of the European group of FIA (EuroFIA) was hosted by GLOSA/ZDUS and took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on November 24-25, 2006. The agenda of the meeting reflected the EU legislative programme with a focus on three main pieces of legislation – the Green Paper on Labour Law, the “Audiovisual Media Services” Directive and the announced Recommendation on private copying remuneration systems.

On labour law, the group decided to concentrate on the definition of worker and operate for an extension of the “employment status” of performers also to include "atypical" work in the sector - usually performers working under short time or part-time contracts with multiple employers, generally referred to as "freelance" in many of the member States.

EuroFIA pledged to work for the establishment of a minimum social protection for genuine self-employed performers and to cooperate with the European institutions for a more coherent definition of this contractual category.

On the draft “Audiovisual Media Services” directive - recently handed back by the European Parliament (first reading) to the Commission – the group criticised the weak extension to non-linear on-demand services of clear obligations fostering the production and distribution of European and independent works. However, EuroFIA deemed the amendments voted by the Parliament an encouraging step forward, e.g. the endorsement (unfortunately only in the recitals of the directive) of voluntary measures for the promotion of European works by the non-linear audiovisual media services, the strict characterization and regulation of product placement, the improved regulation of advertising breaks and the more focused definition of "independent producer".

Future lobbying on this issue will continue to be based on: the rejection of more flexible rules for advertising; the rejection of product integration and the call for a strict regulation of product placement; the full extension of the scope of the Directive to the online audiovisual services, including rules for the promotion of European content and independent productions in the online environment – beyond simple declarations of principles in the recitals.

EuroFIA also discussed the EU Commission’s intention to phase out private copying levies in Europe. The group continues to uphold the importance of the private copying remuneration for performers and disagrees with any alternative that may jeopardize this legitimate source of income in the digital world.

EuroFIA joined forces with other European organizations in the creative industry, under the banner ‘Culture First’, to counter the efforts of equipment and blank media manufacturers and safeguard these levies. The Coalition successfully stalled the process and prevented DG Internal market from releasing a Recommendation to the EU member States that might have wiped out private copying remuneration schemes, to the sole benefit of these corporations.

The group also discussed gender equality, the mobility of dancers and the EuroFIA Dance Passport scheme. EuroFIA is envisaging a project with EU financial support, which would focus on the qualitative dimension of gender discrimination, aiming at promoting a different and positive image of women in theatre, television and cinema, with a specific focus on mature actresses. The Dance passport was extended to FIA affiliates in the new EU member States and work started on a collection of information on performers’ pension and career-transition schemes.

The next EuroFIA meeting will take place in Bucharest, Romania, on 1-2 June 2007.

Resolution against the discrimination of performers and other cultural workers in Slovenia Resolution for the promotion of the status of the artist in Portugal

26-27 May 2006 - Zurich, Switzerland

The European group of FIA (EuroFIA) met in Zurich, Switzerland, on 26-27th of May 2006 to discuss EU policies and to review its activities – and those of its members – since the last meeting.

Focusing on the draft directive on “Services in the Internal Market”, the group studied the revised Commission proposal and concluded that – despite the exemption of the audiovisual sector – it still is a threat for live performance, which continues to fall within the scope of the directive. The group feared that the directive would encourage the spread of “self-employed” status in the sector, without offering enough guarantees to fight fraud – namely disguised employment – and to prevent performers from falling under the scope of competition law, once they are likened by the directive to “service providers”. EuroFIA is strongly opposed to the identification of performers with “service providers” and believes that live entertainment should also be excluded from the scope of the new directive.

The group equally discussed the revised “Television without Frontiers” directive, now called the “Audiovisual Media Services” directive. The draft directive fails to extend to non-linear, on-demand operators clear obligations fostering the production and distribution of European and independent works. It also waters down regulation on advertisement and legalises product placement. EuroFIA supports the commitment of the European Commission to fight fraudulent relocation of on-demand audiovisual service providers, but is concerned about the relaxation of advertising rules and by the many questions that still remain unanswered about “product placement”. Most of all, however, the group criticised the weariness with which the directive is addressing the issue of EU content in the non-linear world. As an increasing amount of creative works is now channelled on-demand to the viewers, the lack of positive regulations to make new content providers in the EU support the cultural diversity of the 25 member States is not satisfactory.

EuroFIA also discussed the future phasing out of private copying levies in Europe. The group considers that such step will deprive performers of a significant source of income, particularly unacceptable as most of them must transfer all their rights to the producers and have therefore little more than the original fee to live on, including between one engagement and the other, when they are effectively unemployed. The European group of FIA believes that technological protection measures and digital rights management systems cannot and should not replace a remuneration right enshrined in the copyright laws of a majority of EU Member states.

The group has further reported on its sustained work on the status of the artist, with special emphasis on “self-employment” and on the criteria to make out disguised employment. This work is all the more necessary nowadays, in the context of the forthcoming Green Paper on EU Labour Law, an initiative of the European Commission, an open consultation on new forms of employment, atypical work and the relationship between flexibility and security.

The group also discussed gender equality and the mobility of performers, two issues on which additional work will be undertaken in the near future, building on the EU agendas - the 2006 “European year of workers’ mobility” and the 2007 “ European Year of Equal opportunities for all”. The next EuroFIA meeting will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 24-25 November 2006.

EuroFIA resolution - Greek public television EuroFIA resolution - Threats received by the Actors' Union in Madrid EuroFIA Resolution - Albéniz theatre

23-25 septembre 2005 - Prague, Czech republic

The last EuroFIA meeting took place in Prague, Czech Republic, on 23-25 September 2005. The meeting was attended by FIA affiliates’ representatives from all EU countries, as well as candidate countries. The debate focused on EU developments and on a few specific activities of the group.

The outcome of the latest consultation launched by DG Information Society on the revision of the Television Without Frontiers Directive was largely debated, with a special focus on the “Liverpool conference on the audiovisual industry”. The group expressed its concern for the future of cultural diversity in Europe and for a likely attempt to weaken the promotion of European works and independent production. EuroFIA recommended the extension of clear ad hoc obligations to all new audiovisual non-linear services. It also called for a status quo of existing advertising rules.

EuroFIA welcomed the adoption of the European Parliament Employment and Social Affairs Committee’s report on the directive on “Services in the Internal Market” and called for a clear exemption of the entire cultural sector from the scope of the directive. The group also called for this report to be approved by the Internal Market Committee, which is the main EP body in charge with this matter.

The group discussed recent developments related to intellectual property: from the spread of Peer-to-Peer file-exchange systems and performers’ IP rights to the European Commission’s initiative on the cross-border collective management of copyright; from the ongoing WIPO negotiation on a possible future treaty for broadcasting organisations to the future of the WIPO audiovisual treaty.

EuroFIA also reviewed the work undertaken by the group on the status of the artists and gender equality – i.e. the promotion of women’s image in the media. A working group was defining the key components of the social status, permeating the different models currently existing in the EU member States, with a view to promoting its implementation at European level. The group was also keen on safeguarding the trade unions’ capacity to organise and represent all their members regardless of their status, including self-employed performers.

Encouraged by the EU gender equality policy and the Lisbon agenda, EuroFIA is establishing priorities to increase not only the quantity but also the quality of European works – namely by changing stereotypes, fighting the shortage of employment for ageing actresses, encouraging training and career transition opportunities for female performers.

Finally, EuroFIA welcomed the adoption of the Convention on cultural diversity by UNESCO, despite the strong opposition from some countries. This Convention is the result of five years of sustained negotiations and vigorous efforts from several Coalitions for Cultural Diversity around the world, in which a number of EuroFIA members have been actively involved. The next EuroFIA meeting shall take place on May 26 and 27, 2006, in Zurich, Switzerland.