The global objectives of the programme are to:

• Preserve and enhance European cultural and linguistic diversity and its cinematographic and audiovisual heritage, guarantee its accessibility to the public and promote intercultural dialogue.
• Increase the circulation and viewership of European audiovisual works inside and outside the European Union, including through greater cooperation between players.
• Strengthen the competitiveness of the European audiovisual sector in the framework of an open and competitive European market favourable to employment, including by promoting links between audiovisual professionals.

In order to achieve these objectives, the programme shall support:

• Upstream of audiovisual production: the acquisition and improvement of skills in the audiovisual field and the development of European audiovisual works.
• Downstream of audiovisual production: the distribution and
• Promotion of European audiovisual works.
• Pilot projects to ensure that the programme adjusts to market developments.

The priorities in the areas for intervention shall be as follows:

• Fostering creativity in the audiovisual sector and knowledge and dissemination of Europe's cinematographic and audiovisual heritage.
• Strengthening the structure of the European audiovisual sector, particularly SMEs.
• Reducing the imbalances in the European audiovisual market between high audiovisual production capacity countries and countries or regions with low audiovisual production capacity and/or a restricted geographic and linguistic area.
• Following and supporting market developments with regard to digitisation, including the promotion of attractive digital catalogues of European films on digital platforms.

• Strengthen European distribution by encouraging distributors to invest in the co-production, acquisition and promotion of non-national European films and to set up coordinated marketing strategies.
• Improve the circulation of non-national European films on the European and international markets by incentive measures for export, distribution on any medium and cinema exhibition.
• Promote the transnational dissemination of European audiovisual works produced by independent production companies by encouraging cooperation between broadcasters on the one hand and independent producers and distributors on the other.
• Encourage the digitisation of European audiovisual works and the development of a competitive digital market place.
• Encourage cinemas to exploit the possibilities offered by digital distribution.

The Community provisional funding available for the programme is:

• 754,95 Million EUR (Global Budget)