Norway

[NO] Co-Production Convention Signed

IRIS 2009-9:1/24

Nils Klevjer Aas

Norwegian Film Institute

On 9 July the Norwegian Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe signed the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production (ETS 147) on behalf of the Kingdom of Norway. Norway thus becomes the 40 th signatory to the Convention. The signature follows a Royal Decree of 26 June 2009 establishing the legal basis for the signing and the approval of the Convention.

Norway is the last of the Scandinavian countries to sign the Convention. The decision to accede comes after a protracted process, involving film industry lobbying for accession, administrative review of the compatibility of current regulations on film support with the stipulations of the Convention and the 2007 government White Paper on film policy. The latter document observed that “Norwegian accession may contribute to enlarging the traditional Nordic co-operation [in film production] and opening up to impulses from the wider European cultural community. Accession will furthermore contribute to vitalising and enhancing creative and commercial alliances already established through, inter alia, the MEDIA programmes and Eurimages”.

Norway has maintained a reservation under Article 20 of the Convention allowing Norwegian authorities to define maximum participation levels in financial co-productions different from those stipulated in Article 9.

The Norwegian government has designated the Norwegian Film Institute as the competent national authority in co-production matters.

Norway’s accession to the Convention will take effect on 1 January 2010, concurrently with the coming into force of new Regulations on Support for Audiovisual Production.


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This article has been published in IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory.