Brussels, 01/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's position on the single digital market strategy is beginning to take shape. Therefore, on Tuesday 1 December, the EP Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE) and the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) - both responsible for this question, held an initial exchange of views on the compromise amendments that will be put to a vote on 14 December. Three committees are involved in establishing a recommendation and have an exclusive remit in their area of action and are also currently preparing for adopting their respective positions. The final resolution is expected to be adopted during the plenary session on 21 January. It will not have any legislative value insofar as it involves a simple recommendation on a European Commission communication.
The latter presented its roadmap in May 2015 to improve access to and development of digital services. The text sets out 16 areas of action before the end of 2016, which include geo-blocking and rules for OTT services on the Internet (such as Skype). The first concrete legislative proposals are expected on 9 December and will focus on the portability of copyright and digital contractual rights.
The resolution being prepared at the European Parliament seeks to provide a point of view of MEPs on the roadmap. In total, 1,287 amendments on the joint report of Kaja Kallas (ALDE, Estonia) and Evelyne Gebhardt (S&D, Germany) have been submitted. On Tuesday 1 December, the co-rapporteurs indicated that they had produced 38 compromise amendments (of which over half are already available). These amendments seek to strengthen the role and powers of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). They are also defending an equivalent level of consumer protection when they purchase on or off line. They are calling on the Commission to introduce an action plan to create a European cloud initiative by 2016. Evelyne Gebhardt MEP stated “several questions are still pending”, particularly on: parcel deliveries, platforms (difference between structure and service), telecommunications, cyber security and illegal content on the Internet, as well as a question of copyright.
The Parliamentary committees in charge of Culture and Education (CULT) - which have exclusive competency on the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) - and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home (LIBE) - which have competencies in the area of fundamental rights and cyber crime, have already adopted their positions.
CULT Committee's recommendation. This recommendation was voted on 12 November and calls on the Commission to “align linear and non-linear services” as well as minimum common standards at a European level for all audiovisual media services during the next revision of the AVMSD. The report by Petra Kammerevert (S&D, Germany) states that this directive should also apply to online platform providers and interface users. It also highlights the need for a raft of criteria to help work out the way in which audiovisual regulation is applied and, to this end, to tackle the practice of seeking the most lenient jurisdiction.
LIBE committee recommendation. The report by Michal Boni (EPP, Poland) was adopted on 30 November and calls on the Commission to provide clear guidelines on how to tackle illegal online content, including hate speech. It underlines the importance of data portability and calls for de facto private life protection.
Recommendation from the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI). This committee has an exclusive remit on copyright questions, civil and commercial law, online legal questions, as well as corporate law and contractual liability (with the exception of consumer related issues). Its opinion will be put to a vote on 3 December. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)