Changes to the Co-production Support Regulations  as of 1 January 2021

At the Eurimages Board of Management meeting on 15-16 October 2020, the Fund decided to amend a number of the provisions governing support for co-production. These new rules, which will come into force on 1 January 2021, include the following changes:

1. The definition of a "qualifying project" for fiction, animation and documentary films is now in line with the points system of the Revised Council of Europe Convention on Cinematographic Co-production (Article 2.6 of the revised Regulations).
2. Where the amount of support granted by Eurimages is less than or equal to 150,000 euros, it will now take the form of a non-refundable grant. However, if the support awarded is more than 150,000 euros, it remains an advance on receipts, i.e. a conditionally repayable loan (Articles 4.1 and 5.1 of the revised Regulations). The provisions on the obligation to set up a collection account (Article 7.5 of the revised Regulations) remain unchanged but will apply only to projects granted support in the form of an advance on receipts.
3. Support will now be paid in two instalments instead of three. 70% of the support will be paid upon signature of the Support Agreement and on the first day of shooting, while the balance of 30% will be paid upon theatrical release of the film, certification of final production costs and definitive recognition of the co-production (Article 5.2 of the revised Regulations).
4. In 2021, co-production support will be awarded at 3 calls for projects (instead of 4 as in 2020): two calls before the summer and a third in the autumn. The calendar of calls for the year 2021 is available here.

The text of the new Co-production Support Regulations is available here: changes compared to the Regulations in force until 31 December 2020 are highlighted in yellow.

A new governance system for the Fund as of 1 January 2022

On 9 September 2020, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a proposal to reform the governance of Eurimages. The Fund's Board of Management has decided that this will come into force on 1 January 2022. Eurimages will in future have an Executive Committee (made up of one third of the member States by rotation) to take rapid decisions on the daily management of the Fund, as well as a Board of Management (composed of all member States) which will define the Fund's policy and adopt the rules for support as well as the budget. Projects will be selected with the active participation of independent external experts from the film industry. The modalities of this new governance will be developed in the course of 2021 and will be communicated to industry professionals as soon as possible. External experts will be selected through calls for expressions of interest published during 2021.