Austria
European Commission: State Aid for Television Production Authorised
IRIS 2004-1:1/42
Marie-Anne Buron
Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels
On 16 December 2003 the European Commission, on the basis of Article 87(3)d of the EC Treaty, authorised until 31 December 2004 the financial aid that Austria wanted to grant to the producers of television works, one of the criteria being that such works had a cultural purpose. The subsidies are intended to improve the quality of television productions and the competitiveness of the Austrian film industry, and to ensure a varied cultural scene.
On 01 January 2004, following the European Commission’s authorisation, Austria amended its national legislation instituting an authority in the field of communications ( KommAustria-Gesetz , see IRIS 2003-8: 7) by including the fund for subsidies for television productions in the scope of the activities of the Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs-GmbH (RTR). The subsidies are administered by this company, which is controlled and actually financed by the Austrian State. An annual sum of 7.5 million euros is paid into the fund by the State. The subsidies are granted in respect of films, series and documentaries produced for television that last more than 23 minutes, and are paid to independent producers, i.e. producers who have no connection with a television channel, who have produced material for television in Austria in the course of the three years prior to applying for the subsidy. The amount of the subsidy is limited to 20% of the total cost of the production, and may not exceed a certain ceiling, depending on the type of production (film, series or documentary).
References
- Entscheidung der Europäischen Kommission vom 16. Dezember 2003 (C(2003)4634 endg.)
- http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/state_aids/comp-2003/n513-03.pdf
- Decision adopted by the European Commission on 16 December 2003 (C(2003)4634fin)
- Bundesgesetz über die Einrichtung einer Kommunikationsbehörde Austria ("KommAustria") und eines Bundeskommunikationssenates (KommAustria-Gesetz - KOG) BGBl. I Nr. 32/2001 idF. BGBl. I Nr. 97/2004
- http://www.austria.gv.at/2004/9/17/kog.pdf
- Act on the authority in the field of communications (KommAustria-Gesetz - KOG) BGBl. I No. 32/2001 (version of BGBl. I Nr. 97/2004)
This article has been published in IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory.