The European Commission extended last week rules allowing member states to support film-makers with public money.
With current arrangements due to expire at the end of the year, the European Union s executive arm decided to extend the rules until the end of 2012.
For European creators to express themselves, they need a stable environment for the film industry, EU Media Commissioner Viviane Reding said in a statement.
This is why we are reconfirming today the commission s current approach to national aid to cinema for another three years, she added.
Led by France, many member states have long sought to hold back a flood of mostly US-made films, which are often highly popular with the European public, by promoting European productions with subsidies.
The commission said that across the 27-nation European Union, member states spend about ?1.6 billion in support of films each year.
Under rules dating from 2001, member states can finance up to 50 percent of a film s budget as long as the production is deemed to be a cultural product.
More money can be provided if the film is considered difficult or is made on a low budget.
A member state can also require a film company to spend 80 percent of a movie s budget in its territory if the enterprise wants to receive public subsidies. -AFP
