The European Parliament is currently calling for proposals from television broadcasting and television production companies for a grant ranging between €50,000 and €300,000. The aim of the call is to create a platform for professional filmmakers to delve into crucial issues of the people that can be absorbed by a diverse audience, from regional to multi-national broadcast.

The call for proposals was released just days before the European electorate (comprised of about 375 million citizens) was given the opportunity to elect the next pan-European assembly which, for the next five years, will vocalize the needs and opinions of European citizens. As an influential player in European Union resolutions, the democratically elected European Parliament helps to shape legislation that affects the everyday lives of Europeans by championing human rights, equal opportunities and environmental protection. The submission deadline for the call is September 1st, 2009 – a date by which the newly elected Parliament will be situated in office, and busy launching the next wave of lawmaking.

Apart from radio and web guidelines, the Parliament’s television call is open only to television broadcasting and/or television production companies, not individual filmmakers/producers. Each proposal must guarantee that its program will be officially broadcast if awarded the grant, accumulating an overall budget of five million Euro.

Submitted projects must encourage a greater public involvement in the European Parliament’s decision-making processes and enhance the peoples’ understanding of its function and position. The chosen projects ‘will concentrate on providing unbiased, accurate and up-to-date information which will include specific links to the role played by the European Parliament as [a] democratically elected body,’ says the Directorate General for Communication. The winning project proposals will be selected by an evaluation committee, with its final decisions announced in mid-November of this year.

For more information on how to apply, visit: //www.europarl.europa.eu