“Until now, LUX filmography has emotionally echoed our political work on environment, migration, fighting poverty and inequalities as well as on democracy and pluralism. Now we will continue this work with strong and amazing partners and take the award a step further,” said Sabine Verheyen (EPP, DE), Chair of Parliament’s Culture and Education Committee, while unveiling the details of the revamped award on Saturday in Venice.

She added that due to COVID these were “difficult times for the audiovisual and film environment” and said that the award presented an opportunity to “come together in building a stronger sense of community and belonging in defending cinema and culture”.

“Cinema is a tool that has never ceased to describe and narrate our complex society, and above all it is one of the most fundamental ways of understanding the reality in which we live.” said David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, in his video address to the Venice film festival audience.

A truly pan-European Audience Award

The LUX Award, until recently organized and awarded by the European Parliament alone, from now will be awarded by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy, in partnership with the European Commission and the Europa Cinemas network.

It will be formally called “LUX – the European Audience Film Award by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy”, with the shortened adaptation “LUX European Audience Film Award”.

Mike Downey, chairman of the European Film Academy, will be the Honorary President of the LUX jury.

New selection procedure

Until recently, only Members of the European Parliament were entitled to vote for the competing films. With the new award, the winner will be selected jointly by MEPs and the public, each representing 50% of the vote.

The three European films that will make up the LUX Award selection will be selected by a panel of film industry professionals.

On 22 June, the EP’s Committee on Culture and Education approved the list of members for the Selection Panel, by adding new members:

– Teona Strugar Mitevska, Macedonian film director who won the LUX Prize last year film God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya;

– Fatima Djoumer, Head of International Relations of Europa Cinemas

– Vanessa Henneman, Dutch talent agent and lawyer specialized in intellectual property rights and copyrights, who is also a member of the European Film Academy Board;

– Maria Silvia Gatta, a policy officer of European Commission, who will serve as an observer.

The new members will join the standing members who remain in their positions from previous years — see more on the LUX award web.

The timeline

The three nominated films this year will be announced during the European Film Awards Ceremony in Reykyavik, Iceland, on 12 December.

Until April, the three nominated films subtitled in the 24 official EU languages will then be screened across Europe. The public will have the chance to cast their votes and rank the nominated films by giving them 1 to 5 stars. The audience and the MEPs each have 50% of the vote.

On April 28 2021 the winner will be announced in the LUX Award Ceremony during the plenary sitting of the European Parliament.

Limited format due to Covid-19

In the new format five nominees will be competing for the award each year, and subtitled in 24 European languages. However, due to the impact of Covid-19 on the film industry market, the number of films running for the award in the first edition will be exceptionally three.

On 3 September, Mr Tofiq Yagublu, Deputy Chairman of the Musavat political party was sentenced to four years and three months’ imprisonment. There are serious questions as to whether due process was observed throughout his detention and trial. While the European Union welcomes the recent registration of the Republican Alternative Party (ReAl) as a political party in Azerbaijan, the sentencing of Mr Yagublu raises questions about the authorities’ commitment to protecting and enhancing political freedoms for all.

The EU calls upon the authorities to re-examine the case of Mr Yagublu, in line with Azerbaijani’s international commitments.

The current Executive Director, Verena Ross, having served the maximum number of ten years allowed under the ESMA Regulation, will leave the post on 29 May 2021 and ESMA now starts the process of finding her successor.

The Executive Director of the Authority is appointed by ESMA’s Board of Supervisors after confirmation by the European Parliament.  

Position

The Executive Director is a full-time independent professional, member of ESMA staff, based in Paris (France). He/she is responsible for the day-to-day management of ESMA and for setting and executing ESMA’s work programme. 

He/she will be accountable to the ESMA Board of Supervisors and its Chair in particular, and report to the Board of Supervisors on an on-going basis on the development of the ESMA activities.

Process

a)    Closing date for applications 16 October 2020;

b)    Interviews by the Selection Board:

c)    Candidates included on the reserve list to do a one-day assessment centre;

c)    Presentation to and interview with the Board of Supervisors;

e)    Appointment by the Board of Supervisors, after confirmation by the European Parliament; and

​f)    The envisaged contract start date is 1 May 2021

This follows the publication of seven technical standards implementing the Securitisation Regulation in the Official Journal of the European Union. The publication of the technical standards triggers  

–        Opening of applications for entities to register as Securitisation Repository (SR); and

–        Entry into force of new disclosure templates

Opening of applications for entities to register as SR

SRs centrally collect and maintain the records of securitisations and will be registered and supervised by ESMA. Those entities who wish to be registered as a SR by ESMA can submit their applications from 23 September 2020.

Until ESMA has registered at least one SR, information that should be made available by reporting entities to SRs on public securitisations must be made make it available via a website which meets certain requirements.

New disclosure templates

ESMA has developed a set of securitisation disclosure templates to improve and standardise the information made available to investors, potential investors and competent authorities.  These disclosure templates will enter into force on 23 September 2020 and must as of that date be used to make any new information available about a securitisation in accordance with Article 7 of the Securitisation Regulation.

ESMA has published guidance on how to fill in the disclosure templates in its Q&A Document on Securitisation Topics. Stakeholders with questions which are not addressed in this document are invited to submit their question(s) to ESMA through its dedicated Q&A tool. XML schema and validation rules as well as reporting instructions for these templates are available on ESMA’s website.

Next Steps

For additional information about the securitisation Regulation, please visit the dedicated page on ESMA’s website

The Civil Liberties Committee passed on Thursday a resolution denouncing that, due to persistent anti-gypsyism, Romani people in Europe suffer the highest rates of poverty and social exclusion. MEPs therefore demand inclusive education, early childhood development and an end to discrimination and segregation. The text, which will be put to the vote in plenary in October, was adopted with 52 votes to 9 and 5 abstentions.

The resolution regrets that the situation of Romani people in the EU has not improved, partly because of “the lack of political will”, and that a significant part of Romani people in Europe lives in “extremely precarious” conditions, with most deprived of their fundamental human rights in all areas of life.

They call on the Commission to table a legislative proposal focused on fighting poverty and anti-gypsyism and improving living and health conditions of Romani people. The proposal should include a plan to eliminate housing, health, employment and education inequalities, as well as specific binding objectives to improve inclusion. Efforts should be accelerated in all EU member states but especially in those with a large Romani population, say MEPs.

Access to healthcare and compensation for victims of forced sterilization

Member states should improve access to good quality and affordable healthcare for Romani people, including sexual and reproductive healthcare. All forms of ethnic segregation in health facilities must be banned, including maternal health care settings. MEPs also ask member states to compensate survivors of forced and coercive sterilization.

No to school segregation

Providing Romani children with an equal start in life is essential to break the poverty cycle, say MEPs, who want to end all forms of school or class segregation of these pupils. They condemn the discriminatory practice of placing them in schools for children with mental disabilities, still in place in some EU countries, and call on the Commission to continue pressing member states to desegregate, taking the cases to the European Court of Justice if needed.

Worsening situation due to COVID-19

MEPs finally note that the COVID-19 crisis has worsened the situation of marginalised communities of Romani people living in overcrowded and inhuman conditions and warn that, due to limited access to healthcare, drinking water, sanitation and food, they are more at risk of contracting the virus.

Quote

Romeo Franz (Greens/EFA, DE), rapporteur, said: “The report is a great chance for EU and its member states to significantly improve the situation of Romani people. It puts at the forefront a legislative proposal for the Equality, Inclusion and Participation of my people, for the first time in the history of this House, and makes the fight against anti-gypsyism, the main cause of social exclusion of Romani people, a priority”.