The voluntary commitments made by broadcasters and streaming services, which were recently presented by the Federal Ministry of Culture and the Media (BKM), have triggered a heated debate in the German film industry. The announced billion-euro investments are intended to strengthen film and series productions, but raise questions about the Liability and distribution of the funds.

Critical voices from the VdA:
The Association of Agencies (VdA) has expressed clear concerns. The funds announced are "billions without guarantee" and offer no planning security for producers and creatives. According to the VdA, the future of creative professions and Germany as a media location is jeopardised as long as investments remain non-binding.

Supporting perspective from VAUNET:
VAUNET, on the other hand, supports the self-commitment model. Criticism of the approach is labelled as the "articulation of particular interests", which does not serve the location as a whole. The association appeals to the German government to support the proposed approach and sees voluntary commitments as a practicable alternative to legal obligations, particularly in consideration of market and EU law.

Financial categorisation by the production alliance:
The Produktionsallianz also accuses politicians of embellishing the Minister of Culture's figures. In its statement, the project is described as a "deceptive package instead of a billion-euro deal", as the actual investment commitments are lower and not legally binding.

The discussion shows an area of tension between Security concerns for creatives and the Practicability of voluntary investment commitments. While the VdA emphasises the risks for the location, VAUNET and parts of the industry focus on the opportunities of the voluntary commitment. The Production Alliance is calling for transparency and commitment in order to secure the trust of the industry.