The European Commission today presented a report on the application of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). The AVMSD enables the free circulation of audiovisual content and meets important public policy objectives such as banning incitement to hatred, protecting minors from harmful content and promoting European audiovisual works.

The European Commission has ruled that a French scheme to support the digitisation of historic cinematographic works is compatible with the EU rules on state aid, inter alia because it helps promote culture while limiting the distortions of competition. The scheme is aimed at making European film heritage available to the widest possible audience thanks to new technology.

Brussels, 14 March 2012 - The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the state aid criteria it proposes to use to assess Member States' film support schemes in future. The criteria are set out in a draft Communication, on which the Commission invites comments by 14 June 2012. The final Communication is due to be adopted by the Commission in the second half of 2012.

European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes has invited Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, a former Federal Minister of Defence, and of Economics and Technology, in Germany, to advise on how to provide ongoing support to Internet users, bloggers and cyber-activists living under authoritarian regimes. This appointment forms a key element of a new "No Disconnect Strategy" to uphold the EU's commitment to ensure human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected both online and off-line, and that internet and other information and communication technology (ICT) can remain a driver of political freedom, democratic development and economic growth.

Vice President Kroes has formed and will today open a new forum of leading media figures to debate what the EU can do to help media fully transition to the digital era without losing its essence.

28 leading companies have come together to form a new Coalition to make a better and safer internet for children. Put together by the Commission, founding Coalition members are: Apple, BSkyB, BT, Dailymotion, Deutsche Telekom, Facebook, France Telecom-Orange, Google, Hyves, KPN, Liberty Global, LG Electronics, Mediaset, Microsoft, Netlog, Nintendo, Nokia, Opera Software, Research in Motion, RTL Group, Samsung, Sulake, Telefonica, TeliaSonera, Telenor Group, Tuenti, Vivendi, Vodafone. Priority actions include making it easier to report harmful content, ensuring privacy settings are age-appropriate, and offering wider options for parental control, reflecting the needs of a generation that is going online at an increasingly young age.

The EU Council for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport will take place on 28-29 November. Neelie Kroes, Vice-President responsible for the Digital Agenda, and Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, will represent the European Commission.

Results from a study just released by the European Commission show that parental control tools tested have become more effective at blocking adult content and other harmful content since the first tests conducted last year. However the tools are less efficient at filtering content related to racism and self-harm (sites promoting anorexia, suicide or self-mutilation). In general, the tools cannot filter all the different kinds of user generated content on the internet – while they can block access to things like social networks and streaming services, only very few tools are able to filter contacts in applications such as Skype and MSN.

Media freedom and freedom of expression in the enlargement countries were topics of joint discussion between the Vice-President of the European Commission Neelie Kroes responsible for the Digital Agenda including media policy and Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle with President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek on Tuesday in Strasbourg. They focused on how to best foster Freedom of Expression in the existing legal framework.

The European Commission is establishing a Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom in Florence with a €600 000 grant to the European University Institute's (EUI) Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. Starting in December 2011, and headed by Professor Pier Luigi Parcu, the Centre will develop new ideas on how to ensure a highly diverse and free media, and work to enhance the quality of the reflection on media pluralism in Europe.

The European Commission has adopted a Recommendation asking EU Member States to step up their efforts, pool their resources and involve the private sector in digitising cultural material. This is essential to make European cultural heritage more widely available and to boost growth in Europe's creative industries.

A high-level group to provide recommendations for the respect, protection, support and promotion of media freedom and pluralism in Europe has been convened by European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes. The group, which will be fully independent, will be chaired by the former President of Latvia, Professor Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga.

The European Commission has requested Belgium and the UK to implement outstanding provisions of the EU's Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive in Brussels and Gibraltar respectively. Belgium has notified the Commission of measures to implement the AVMS Directive as regards all audiovisual media services that are established in all three linguistic communities: French, Flemish and German. However, audiovisual on-demand services provided in Brussels in other languages than French and Dutch are not yet regulated. The Belgian authorities have informed the Commission that a draft law is being prepared but is still in a preliminary phase. The UK has also notified the Commission of measures to implement the AVMS Directive into national law. However, this law does not cover audiovisual services provided in Gibraltar. A draft law is under preparation, but the adoption process is still underway.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of new titles enter the European book market – but only a few turn into real bestsellers. A good number of them eventually go out of commerce as publishers cannot maintain the costs of marketing and storing books in print if they do not continue to sell well. While publishers are bringing more books back into commerce through e-books and print on demand, many titles still remain in the collections and archives of Europe's libraries.

How Member States are implementing EU Recommendations ensuring children can enjoy the digital world confidently and safely are reviewed by the European Commission in a report presented today. Member States and industry are increasingly making efforts to implement EU Recommendations dating from 1998 and 2006 on the protection of minors using audiovisual and online services. But the measures taken have been insufficient overall.

The European Commission has written to eight EU Member States (Austria, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxemburg) seeking information about their implementation of the Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive. The Commission has asked the Member States to reply within 10 weeks. The fact-finding letters are part of the Commission's efforts to ensure that the national media laws of all Member States correctly implement all aspects of the AVMS rules. The issues raised vary from one Member State to the other. The requests for information do not imply that the Directive has been incorrectly implemented by the Member States concerned but simply that, at this stage, the Commission has some outstanding questions concerning their implementation of the Directive.

A public consultation on access to, and preservation of, digital scientific information has been launched by the European Commission on the initiative of European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes and Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn. European researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs must have easy and fast access to scientific information, to compete on an equal footing with their counterparts across the world. Modern digital infrastructures can play a key role in facilitating access. However, a number of challenges remain, such as high and rising subscription prices to scientific publications, an ever-growing volume of scientific data, and the need to select, curate and preserve research outputs. Open access, defined as free access to scholarly content over the Internet, can help address this. Scientists, research funding organisations, universities, and other interested parties are invited to send their contributions on how to improve access to scientific information. The consultation will run until 9 September 2011. Accessing and re-using knowledge is a key objective of the Digital Agenda for Europe and the Innovation Union.

Digital technology and the internet are rapidly changing the way in which audiovisual works are produced, marketed, and distributed. Consumers increasingly expect to be able to watch anything, anywhere, any time and via any one of a number of devices (TV, personal computer, games console, mobile media device). Business models have to evolve rapidly to keep pace with the ever faster pace of technological change which offers new opportunities for creators and distributors and also new consumer expectations and ultimately more growth and jobs.

The European Commission has expressed a number of concerns on a proposal by the Belgian audiovisual regulators to regulate broadcasting services in Belgium. It has also raised some questions on the Belgian telecommunications regulator's proposal to regulate broadband access. In particular, the Commission is asking the Belgian regulators to take full account of market developments in both markets and to further substantiate and justify its reasoning with regard to the broadcasting market. The Commission's role is to oversee the details of remedies proposed by national telecoms regulators to address competition problems so as to ensure that customers and businesses are able to benefit from a fair and competitive single EU telecoms market, and that operators have the regulatory certainty they need to confidently operate EU-wide.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation as the first step of a review of the criteria used to apply EU state aid rules to Member States' financial support for making and distributing films. The current Cinema Communication is 10 years old. The Commission has published an issues paper identifying areas for reflection, such as competing to attract major film productions using state aid, and supporting activities other than production. The Commission invites interested parties to submit their comments by 30 September 2011.