Austria

European Commission: Extension of Authorisation of Subsidies for Television Production In Austria

IRIS 2005-7:1/34

Marie-Anne Buron

Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels

On 16 December 2003 the European Commission authorised State subsidies in the field of television production (see IRIS 2004-1: 0) until 31 December 2004. Thus if Austria wanted to continue to grant subsidies without violating Community law, it was required to re-apply to the Commission for authorisation, which it did on 20 April 2005. The bill submitted to the Commission for authorisation included a number of minor changes regarding the precise definition of the proportion of capital that the beneficiaries of subsidies must contribute, the rights of use, and the procedure that must be followed. Furthermore, the fund for subsidising television production has been arranged and named the Fernsehfonds Austria (Austrian television fund).

In its decision C(2005)2571 of 12 July 2005, the European Commission authorised the continuation of this scheme of subsidies until 30 June 2006, on the grounds that the subsidies granted were compatible with the common market under Article 87(3)d of the EC Treaty. The new provisions introduced by the law in the course of 2005 came into force retroactively on 1 January 2005.