Brussels, 05/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Council and the European Parliament have found common ground over the collective management of copyright, particularly for music available online. An informal agreement in institutional trialogue was reached on this subject on Monday 4 November on the basis of a proposal by European Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier.
He was delighted to announce the news on his Twitter feed, stating that it will allow European citizens greater access to “legal content”. He went on to congratulate rapporteur Marielle Gallo (EPP, France) on her work.
The Lithuanian Presidency chaired the three trialogue negotiation meetings. Culture Minister Sarunas Birutis said that the agreement had made it possible to achieve a “well-balanced regulatory approach [which] will bring more transparency and efficiency for the activities of the collective management organisations (…). This will also allow consumers in the EU to enjoy the widest possible access to diverse musical repertoires”.
The informal agreement will soon be confirmed by the Coreper meeting of 6 November, which will pave the way for a formal first-reading agreement. The plenary vote of the European Parliament is scheduled for February 2014. (MD/transl.fl)