Brussels’ European quarter is getting ready for the elections on 23-26 May. Political parties are finalising their lists of candidates for the European Parliament and organisations and interest groups are designing campaigns to engage citizens to vote.

Drafting the eighth activity report of the organisation for our General Assembly meeting on 27 March was harder work than in previous years. For the last two years, due to the legislative agenda of the European Commission in our fields of interest, the level of activity has been intense and in 2017 it reached a peak.

General Approach adopted by Culture Council goes further than European Commission proposal and promises a positive result on promotion of European works ahead of negotiations on final text with European Parliament and Commission.

We, European citizens and filmmakers, live in a Europe that is a standard-bearer of hope when it remains faithful to its values of tolerance, open-mindedness and diversity and stands against the current trends towards nationalism, alternative facts and mistrust.

We are Europeans. We are authors. We are consumers. We are story tellers whose works tell the tales of our continent.  We are here to help write the story of Europe’s future, a bright future. We are characters in it. We want it to be a classic and source of inspiration for future generations. We are Europeans, surprised to be a key storyline.

The Society of Audiovisual Authors, publishes the 2nd edition of its White Paper on Audiovisual Authors Rights and Remuneration in Europe. The paper underlines the explosion of different forms of exploitation of audiovisual works, demonstrates the opportunities of the digital economy and how SAA’s members can help ensure Europe’s screenwriters and directors get a fair share.

Bogdan Wenta MEP’s draft report discussed in the European Parliament Culture committee.

The new Commission, and Europe in general, must stop paying lip service to creation.

Today is the big one. SAA and anyone else in the audiovisual sector is now under no doubt of which hearing they need to follow. Günther Oettinger.

Culture portfolio is losing departments as well as prestige and importance.

A number of Europe’s screenwriters and directors including Costa-Gavras, Agnès Jaoui and Enrique Urbizu called for the next European institutions to support culture and its creators.

SAA to speak at a flash session on the Cultural and Creative Industries Platform.