The European audiovisual sector at the intersection of the Council of Europe and the European Union: regional cooperation for a normative framework

The Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Union (EU) have a long-standing tradition of political dialogue and cooperation, which was consolidated with the ‘Memorandum of Understanding between the Council of Europe and the European Union’ (MoU) in (2007). The MoU sets out fundamental principles and provides the foundation for the CoE-EU cooperation framework, while also identifying areas of mutual interest. ‘Intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity’ are among the areas the CoE-EU cooperation framework encompasses. Despite the plethora of policy and legal instruments developed throughout the CoE-EU partnership, the copyright-related aspects of CoE instruments and their interaction with the EU copyright acquis remain an under-researched area within the literature. Therefore, this article aims to fill this gap by analysing the interplay of key CoE instruments and the EU copyright directives by focusing on a matter highly valued by both institutions: the protection and preservation of European audiovisual works and heritage.