European Commission EVP Henna Virkkunen on Film Funding Overhaul and Paramount-WBD Merger: It ‘Might Have to Be Reviewed Under Several EU Regulatory Frameworks’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Henna Virkkunen, EVP of the European Commission responsible for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, made the trek to the Cannes Film Festival on Friday for the first time, just as Europe’s film community is up in arms over plans for major changes to the EU’s Creative Europe funding program.

On the eve of the fest’s opening, thousands of European film personalities, including Pawel Pawlikowski, Lukas Dhont and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, fired off an open letter claiming that the current plan to combine the EU’s culture and media strands under the so-called AgoraEU initiative will throw a monkey wrench into the workings of the Creative Europe’s MEDIA Program. It has been a crucial EU film and TV industry driver for the past 35 years, having backed recent Oscar winners such as “Sentimental Value,” “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” “Flow,” “Anatomy of a Fall” and “The Favourite.”

Before meeting with the press in Cannes, Virkkunen took questions from Variety on a wide range of topics. They span from the AgoraEU initiative, which she said “will build on the success of Creative Europe,” to the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act and the EU Commission’s regulatory approval of the Paramount-WBD Merger, the outcome of which “remains to be seen and could have an impact on the timeline or substance of the acquisition,” Virkkunen noted.