The European Broadcasting welcomes the compromise on the EU-US trade negotiating mandate adopted last Friday in Luxembourg by EU Trade Ministers, but will remain vigilant about any re-inclusion of audiovisual services during the trade discussions with the US.  

Audiovisual services were at the heart of discussions and were at the end excluded from the scope of the adopted mandate. However the European Commission will be allowed to ask Council for their re-inclusion during the trade negotiations themselves.

Until recently, it seemed that the European Commission and EU Member States were under strong pressure to put all sectors up for discussion.

The European Parliament's opposition to the inclusion of audiovisual services, reemphasised again on Thursday 13 June by  European Parliament President Martin Schulz, appears to have been a key factor in the Council's decision. Already entitled to veto the outcome of the trade negotiations, the European Parliament has also obtained a right to 'monitor' the trade discussions as they take place.

“I welcome the Council’s Decision but we will have to stay vigilant that the audiovisual sector is not put back on the table during the negotiations. We will also have to be very careful about audiovisual services in the online world ”, said EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre.”

“The European audiovisual sector has been united in showing its opposition to any inclusion in the mandate and will remain so.  European values and cultural diversity should not be bargained with.”

In 2010, the US exported 7.5 billion dollars worth of audiovisual services into the EU, while EU exports to the US only reached 1.8 billion dollars. It is widely understood that open trade in audiovisual services between the EU and US would expose the EU audiovisual sector to the overwhelming competitive advantages of its US counterpart, and further accentuate the existing imbalance.

In particular, the trade negotiating mandate may underpin the offensive interests of giant US players in the online environment, such as Apple TV or Netflix, and play against the growth and development of their European counterparts.

Free trade in audiovisual services with the US would also threaten the regulatory flexibility Europe needs to shape its audiovisual sector in favour of media pluralism and cultural diversity.

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