Athens, 2 March 2022

Inter-Parliamentary teleconference on digital technology and space

An inter-parliamentary teleconference on digital technology and space was held today, in the framework of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Hellenic Parliament was represented by the Chairman of the Committee on Cultural Affairs Vasilios Digalakis and the member of the Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs Makarios Lazaridis.

Mr. Digalakis addressed the Conference session on the topic: "What does the future hold for the European digital cultural industries?". He began by expressing Greece's solidarity with the Ukrainian people and informed that Greece fully supports all actions taken and is sending humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. He then referred to Greece's measures and reforms to support the cultural industry, the protection of intellectual property rights and support for the audiovisual sector.

He also noted that the Greek government had taken a number of short-term measures to support the sector during the pandemic, including a half-billion euro support package for the cultural and creative sector, as well as the creation of a register of cultural professionals to support artists. At the same time, he stressed, a long-term strategy was developed by securing €25 million through the EU's Recovery and Resilience Fund for the reform of the employment and social security system of the cultural sector in Greece.

Finally, Mr. Digalakis pointed out that important steps have also been taken in the audiovisual sector, such as the support of audiovisual entrepreneurship, the creation of a new National Film School, the provision of discount incentives and efforts to protect intellectual property.

Back