It was with great joy that we were able to finally reconvene an in-person meeting of the EuroFIA group, after a two and half year hiatus, in June of 2022 in Madrid, Spain. We were hosted by our Spanish affiliate Conarte and the meeting was held in a premises kindly made available by the Spanish Minstry for Culture, with the Minister Miquel Iceta also joining the group for a brief address and extending his warmest wishes for a successful meeting. The meeting was chaired by the new EuroFIA coordinator duo of the SFA and AUT, represented by Denys Fouqueray and Sercan Gidsoglu, who were elected as coordinators at the online EuroFIA meeting in December 2021 for a two year mandate.
We were also delighted that FIA President Gabrielle Carteris made the journey to join the EuroFIA group, her first in-person FIA meeting since her election at FIA’s online Congress last year. In her opening address she emphasized the importance and value of being together and connecting once more, a message with a strong resonance for all present. She also asked all delegates to join her in a minute’s silence to reflect on the war in Ukraine and the terrible conditions experienced there. The group then welcomed by Anatolii Yalovyi, representative of FIA’s Ukrainian union CWU Ukraine, who addressed the group via zoom. He shared the frontline support work the union is doing in the wartime context, where many theatres and workplaces are closed and performers are experiencing terrible hardship. The group expressed their solidarity with the struggle of performers in Ukraine and FIA will continue to channel all financial support received from members to the Ukrainian union.
The meeting included panel discussions on dubbing and employment trends in the sector, on engagement with streaming platforms and on streaming of recorded live performances. There were also opportunities to update the group on key developments nationally, including in relation to social protection for artists and changes and special schemes that related to the pandemic. There was also a long exchange with DG Competition of the European Commission via video conference regarding the upcoming Guidelines on Collective Bargaining for Self-employed.
The annual meeting with CMOs in the Audiovisual sector in Europe was also reconvened for the first time since 2019. Spanish CMO AISGE kindly hosted the building in their training centre and invited the group for a memorable evening event in the Palacio de Cibeles. The meeting was an opportunity for a deep dive into all current developments in the area of performers’ IP rights. Transposition of the DSM directive was one of the key issues for discussion, as well as new developments in the area of private copying. The RAAP case and its implications in the context of the ratification of the Beijing Treaty were also the subject of a panel. It was a valuable opportunity for CMOs and unions to share and exchange on current challenges and concerns at both national and European level. We hope that we will now be able to continue this annual meeting as before.
