Brussels, 17/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, has thrown in the towel. The White Paper to modernise copyright will not be adopted during his term of office. As he is not ready to make any concessions on his proposed text, which he feels is balanced, he has decided to leave it up to his successor to rework it. It will probably fall to Gunther Oettinger to work on this dossier.
No consensus could be reached within the European Commission on the proposed White Paper on copyright, as drafted by Barnier's services. His spokesperson, Chantal Hughes, therefore announced on Thursday 11 September that “the divergences of views on certain issues remain too wide to allow a White Paper to be presented during this mandate”, despite the efforts made to reach consensus.
Faced with the demands of his colleagues, Barnier opted not to make any fundamental changes to the text he had put on the table, which aimed to strike “the right balance between the various interests at stake”. The European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, had put her head above the parapet on more than one occasion (see EUROPE 11124). With the blessing of European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, therefore, Barnier has decided to pass on the text as it now stands to the next Commission. It will be Germany's Gunther Oettinger who will have to set the reform of copyright to music. The reshuffle of the European Commission proposed by Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday 10 September will see dossiers passed by sleight of hand between Directorates General, and issues related to intellectual property protection will now be the remit of DG Connect, under its Digital Economy portfolio. (MD)