Brussels, 19/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - Ministers responsible for audiovisual issues meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 19 May for a Council session, warmly welcomed the Commission decision for a review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AMS) at the beginning of 2016. They also welcomed the targets set out by the Commission in the digital single market strategy presented on 6 May last. These include: making the European Union more competitive at a global level through increased growth based on the digital economy. There are, however, many challenges that need to be met in order to ensure that the digital single market respects European values such as cultural diversity, data protection, the freedom of expression and respect for fundamental rights.
Before the Latvian Presidency-organised debate, overseen by the Latvian Minister for Culture, Dace Melbarde, on the digital strategy's global objectives (particularly the AMS review), the Commissioner for the Digital Economy, Günther Oettinger, explained why swift adoption of the digital strategy in the European Union was required. In brief: there is too much fragmentation in the national markets, which means that Europe loses ground to its US and Asian competitors and that rapid developments in new technologies and the audiovisual landscape, together with increasing media convergence, jeopardise cultural diversity and the viability of the creative industries in Europe.
On the question of copyright, whose planned revision will take place this autumn, Commissioner Oettinger appears to have listened to the arguments from the film industry and artists and authors' representative organisations, which have strongly insisted over recent weeks that the principle of territoriality should be maintained when allocating film distribution licences in member states. They emphasised that multi-territorial licenses would mean leaving the door open to a flood of US productions that would undermine cultural diversity in Europe because small national productions would no longer be able to circulate through the system. This argument was particularly reiterated in France and Germany, which raised the issue when they spoke on the matter. When speaking on the issue of the principle of territoriality in film distribution, Commissioner admitted: “We cannot get rid of it overnight. This is protection against US groups such as Google and Netflix, which do not form the basis of our cultural diversity. It is clear that we need to take into account these exceptions”. France asserted that “the territoriality principle should not be undermined… Further exceptions to the copyright system are not required”. Germany added: “It is essential that models that work should not be relegated… Geo-blocking can be limited… Artists must be able to live from their art and not just survive, diversity and cultural creativity should be encouraged”. The need to step up the fight against piracy was also mentioned. Commissioner Oettinger said that they needed to see what was possible at technical and legal levels.
With regard to revision of the AMS directive, the vast majority of member states did not question the legitimacy of the principle of origin, the cornerstone of the directive but several delegations called for it to be cleaned up due to geopolitical changes in the audiovisual landscape. It should be pointed out that the principle of the country of origin stipulates that the law applicable to services provided in a country but received in another, is the law of the country in which the action or the service is provided. Therefore an audiovisual services provider is covered by the scope of a single member state: the one on which it is established. Some kinds of media that broadcast ideological or racist propaganda or breach the protection of minors do so by having broadcasting antennae in countries that are less strict where they can broadcast this content to member states where the laws are stricter. This practice is facilitated by the multiplicity of the current means of broadcasting. Member states as a whole criticised the situation, whilst expressing their support for the principle of the country of origin. Some member states simply called for slight adjustments (Estonia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Ireland and Portugal), whilst others (France and Romania) considered that the application of the country of destination should be an option that could be considered.
Improved cooperation between media regulators was also proposed as a means of providing greater guarantees for cultural diversity and helping smaller media operators to broadcast their content.
The debates also demonstrated the determination of member states to ensure the protection of linguistic and cultural diversity in the new digital strategic framework. Some countries, like France and Spain, warmly welcomed the Commission announcements in the area of tax changes to digital books and an examination, by the end of the year, of the practices carried out by platforms such as Google. Commissioner Oettinger warned that “Google wants to remain on the European market but it should be prepared to take into account our rights and copyright”.
Concluding the debate, the Commissioner underlined the urgency for the European Union to take concrete action in the digital and audiovisual areas and called on member states to more quickly provide their market analyses to facilitate AMS directive revision and the directive's entry into force as soon as possible. The Latvian Minister explained that the digital single market would also be looked at by the Competitiveness and Telecommunications Councils and that a letter would be subsequently sent out to the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, summarising the suggestions formulated by the member states during these councils. Oettinger explained that this would be done as part of the preparations for the European Summit at the end of June, where member states are due to provide a general approach to supporting the digital strategy proposed by the Commission. (Isabelle Lamberty)