Foreword by Androulla Vassiliou

It gives me great pleasure once again to provide a few words of introduction to the European Cinema Yearbook. On this occasion I am happy to announce that the European Commission recently adopted its new Creative Europe programme, which proposes significant additional funding for audiovisual works over the next seven-year budgetary period, starting in 2014.

A specific objective of the Creative Europe programme is the promotion of transnational circulation of films and professionals and the transnational development of audience for European films. This would enable us to expand support for the marketing, branding and distribution of European films on all platforms, including cinema, television, online and during festivals. Building on the experience of the MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund, the Commission is also proposing a new financial facility for the cultural and creative sectors to provide easier access to finance. The support scheme for video-on-demand and the digitisation of cinemas would also be expanded.

At this stage the Creative Europe programme is a Commission proposal and needs to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. Support from stakeholders will be vital to the programme's success.

In order to make the right decisions in a rapidly changing environment it is important to have reliable data and statistics. For this reason the MEDIA Salles European Cinema Yearbook is an important reference for the European cinema industry. I would like to congratulate all those who contributed to this twentieth edition and to wish it every success.

Androulla Vassiliou
Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth of the European Commission