Council adopts common position on MEDIA II (Training) programme
The Council of the European Union has adopted a common position on the implementation of the MEDIA II (Training) programme for professionals in the audiovisual programme industry. The MEDIA II (Training) programme is intended to run from 1 January 1996 to 31 December 2000. The objective of the programme is to provide professionals in the audiovisual industry with the skills they need to fully exploit the European dimension of the market, and to develop and make use of new technology. This will involve training in economic and commercial management, including training in relevant legal issues. MEDIA II will also encourage cooperation and an exchange of know-how between training institutions, the professional sector and commercial enterprises. In this regard, particular attention will be paid to the specific needs of countries or regions with a low production capacity, and/or a restricted linguistic and geographical area, and to the development of an independent European production and distribution sector. The budget foreseen for the implementation of this programme is ECU 45 million.