Ricardo Martínez de Rituerto
Ricardo Martínez de Rituerto is El País' Brussels correspondent, covering European affairs.
Updated: 31 July 2009
Sources and authors
By Ricardo Martínez de Rituerto
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Culture: Scenario darkens for European cinema
8 March 201190 El País Madrid -
Innovation: Europe lagging in the sciences
3 February 201198 El País Madrid -
Digitisation: Google books revolution hard to put down
9 September 20092 El País Madrid -
EU enlargement: Never mind the Balkans, here's Iceland
31 July 20092 El País Madrid
Seven Oscars and eight Palmes d'Or in 10 years: the results of the MEDIA programme that has subsidised film production in Europe are largely positive. But now the funding is on the chopping block – to the dismay of filmmakers, who have started a petition. 
While the Lisbon innovation objectives have been postponed until 2020, Europe’s major universities argue that research is still too dependent on the financial sector. 
For some time now Google has been digitising vast numbers of books. This controversial initiative, assailed by publishers, booksellers and some EU national governments alike, has led the European Commission to call for up-to-date copyright legislation that will prove equal to the challenges of the digital age. 
The enthusiasm with which member states have welcomed Reykjavik's request for accession to the EU is in marked contrast to the prudence — and in some cases hostility — which has greeted similar requests from the countries of ex-Yugoslavia and Turkey. But the EU cannot afford to give the impression that certain candidates enjoy special privileges.