TRADE : Hollywood Faces a New Fight With Europe on Quota Issue

A new campaign has begun in the long-running war waged by some European nations to curtail the import of American films and television shows.

This time the battlefield is the redrafting of a 5-year-old regulation calling for broadcasters operating within the 15-nation European Union to devote a majority of their transmission time, not counting news, sports or advertising, to programs of European origin--”where practicable.”

Some countries, led notably by France, want to close a loophole that has let many stations ignore the quota; they want the words where practicable eliminated. Other nations, such as Britain and Germany, argue that the very idea of quotas is meaningless in an age where increasingly sophisticated information technology makes a mockery of government controls.

The new fight comes almost exactly a year after the EU, acting under enormous French pressure and against bitter American opposition, managed to win a last-minute exemption of audio-visual products from a sweeping global trade agreement aimed at easing or erasing import barriers.

For the United States and Hollywood’s dream merchants, the stakes could hardly be higher. Movies are the United States’ second-largest export (after commercial jet aircraft), and Europe accounts for more than half of all American filmdom’s foreign revenue.

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According to figures produced by the Los Angeles-based Motion Picture Assn. of America, Europeans bought more than $4.5 billion worth of U.S.-made theatrical, television, pay-TV and home video products in 1993, a jump of more than 21% over the previous year.

But many Europeans argue that the issue isn’t about money at all but about the very survival of their culture and their performing arts. They see more American drama on television, look at figures showing U.S.-produced films now taking 80% of box-office receipts in Europe (except France, where it is about 60%) and begin to panic.

In a speech earlier this month before the European Parliament, French President Francois Mitterrand even hinted that the broadcast issue is an ingredient in the Continent’s political stability, saying: “It is vital to increase the influence and the circulation of works of art produced in Europe. Surely Europeans have the right to see works created by them and not be prevented from doing so by the blind logic of a blind market.”

Mitterrand declared in his speech that completing a new regulation governing television content would be a top priority of France’s six months in the chair of the EU’s rotating presidency, a period running through June.

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The EU’s new Executive Commission, which must come up with a draft that the member states would then debate and pass into law, is said to be divided; it is also unclear exactly how Marcelino Oreja, a Spaniard and the incoming commissioner responsible for audio-visual affairs, will approach the issue.

The calendar is already loaded with dates for potential skirmishes. The commission takes its first look at the problem Feb. 8; the European Parliament is scheduled to debate the issue next month, while the EU’s 15 national cultural ministers are expected to debate the possible content of a new regulation when they meet informally in France on April 3.

Despite all this, many predict that it could take months before the commission even presents the member states with a formal draft.

Earlier this month, France failed to coax the outgoing commission to agree on a plan that would have tightened the loophole on quotas but at the same time offered broadcasters exemption from the quotas altogether if they instead invested a fixed percent of their budget in European productions.

But earlier this week, a commission staffer indicated that both those ideas remain alive. “One thing that’s certain is that the wording where practicable will go,” he said. “Just how it goes is another matter.”

Still, those lobbying America’s case remain optimistic.

“There’s a lot of opposition in Europe too” to tightening the regulation, noted Michael Bartholomew, director of European Union Affairs in the Brussels office of the Motion Picture Assn. of America. “We’re hoping the commission keeps on open mind on the issue.”