EC/Switzerland agreement: audiovisual field, participation in the programme MEDIA 2007

PURPOSE: to conclude an Agreement with the Swiss Community on the terms and conditions for the participation of the latter in the MEDIA 2007 programme.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision 2010/478/EU concerning the conclusion of an Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation in the audiovisual field, establishing the terms and conditions for the participation of the Swiss Confederation in the Community programme MEDIA 2007, and a Final Act.

CONTENT: on behalf of the European Community the Commission negotiated an agreement with the Swiss Confederation in the audiovisual field, establishing the terms and conditions for the participation of the Swiss Confederation in the Community programme MEDIA 2007 and a Final Act. The latter were both signed on behalf of the Community on 11 October 2007, subject to their conclusion at a later date, and have been applied provisionally as from 1 September 2007, in accordance with Council Decision 2007/745/EC. This Decision concludes the Agreement. It further states that as a consequence of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, the EU has replaced and succeeded the European Community.

The main elements of the Agreement, in summary, are as follows:

• in Annex I the Agreement defines the conditions of the Swiss broadcasting regulatory framework. Certain provisions set out in the previous Agreement have been revised and completed in order to make Swiss legislation more compatible with the EU’s body of law. For example, Articles 1 and 4 in Annex I permit a closer match on provisions regarding the freedom of reception and retransmission. Article 2 in the same Annex guarantees Swiss compliance with Community provisions regarding measures taken to safeguard the broadcasting of events of major importance to society;
• Swiss projects must meet the same conditions, rules and procedures as those applied to Member State projects. This refers, in particular, to the submission, assessment and selection of applications and projects, the various responsibilities of the national structures in the implementation of the programme and the activities related to the monitoring of the participation in the programme;
• Switzerland will pay an annual contribution to the programme;
• on matters relating to financial control and auditing Switzerland agrees to conform to Community provisions, including controls by Community bodies;
• the Agreement will apply provisionally as from the date of its signature and will continue to apply until the programme comes to an end, or until one of the sides notifies the other side of its wish to terminate the Agreement;
• the Agreement will be managed by a joint committee, composed of representatives from both sides.

Other elements of the proposal include: a Joint Declaration on reinforcing co-operation in matters of audiovisual policy; a Joint Declaration to adapt the Agreement once the revisions of the current “Television without Frontiers” Directive comes into force; and a Joint Declaration granting Switzerland symmetrical treatment in correspondence with the commitments undertaken by Switzerland with regard to events of major societal importance.

ENTRY INTO FORCE : 26/07/2010.