Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, French Minister of Culture and Communication, and Bernd Neumann, German minister delegated to cultural affairs and media, have officially closed the symposium between French and German cinema professionals on the topic of the prospects for Franco-German cinematographic co-operation. On this occasion, they jointly affirmed the indispensable implication of culture, and more particularly of cinema, in the process of European construction. Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres in particular pointed out that, to support the emergence of a common European identity, "culture, in all its forms, has a determining role to play by allowing an exchange of ideas, values, ideals between people". The two ministers drew the attention of the European Commission to the necessity, within the scope of its current consideration of the governmental support, to better take into account the political significance of culture. According to Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres: "As bridges between nations, European cinema cannot exist without strong national cinematography, supported by public funds". Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres and Bernd Neumann were pleased with the exemplary co-operation carried out between their two countries in the domain of cinema, thanks to the mini-treaty and the co-production agreement which allowed the production, in particular, of “Merry Christmas” (Joyeux Noël) by Christian Carion, selected for the Oscars in the category of best foreign film, and of the “Intoxication of Power” by Claude Chabrol, in competition in the Berlin Film Festival. For more information, in French, CLICK HERE.