Press Release: State aid: Commission consults on three year extension of film support criteria

The European Commission launched a public consultation on plans to extend the state aid assessment criteria of its Cinema Communication until 31 December 2012. Under the current criteria, state support for film production can be exempted from the EC Treaty's ban on state aid under certain conditions. In particular, such support must concern cultural films, while respecting certain thresholds regarding territorial requirements and aid intensity. Schemes must also comply with the EC Treaty rules and cannot focus on specific film-making activities. The Commission proposed to extend the validity of these criteria for three years and invites interested parties to submit their comments by 30 November 2008.