Co-productions between film producers in Germany and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg were given a boost this week after the signing of a formal co-production treaty between the two countries.

Co-productions made under the auspices of the new treaty will be regarded as national films in both states and therefore enjoy all of the incentives provided for local film productions.

German culture minister, Julian Nida-Ruemelin, said that in recent years Luxembourg had become an "interesting and attractive partner" for German producers. Recent German projects to shoot in Luxembourg include ApolloMedia's production of Tom Reeve's George And The Dragon and Peter Hyams' The Musketeer.

ApolloMedia's Thomas Becker praised the "professionalism" of Luxembourg crews, adding that co-productions would further benefit from "a compatibility between the German tax-driven schemes and Luxembourg's."

Meanwhile, Eberhard Junkersdorf, president of the Federal German Film Board (FFA) called for changes to the regulations governing international co-productions in Germany's Media Ruling. He also suggested that tax-driven incentives similar to those in the UK, Ireland, Canada or Luxembourg should be introduced to channel more investment into German feature production.