Brussels, 08/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - France and Germany have agreed to work together on certain provisions of the Commission strategy for a digital single market. The joint Franco-German Council of Ministers in Metz, France, on 7 April restated its support for the principles of territoriality, cultural diversity and cultural exception.
Two declarations were signed in Metz: the first, signed jointly by ministers Audrey Azoulay and Heiko Maas, is on copyright in Europe, and the second, signed this time by minister Monika Grütters for Germany, is on culture and the media.
Azoulay and Maas reaffirm the “vital role of copyright in supporting innovation, creativity and promotion of cultural diversity”. They call on the commission to take account of a number of priorities in its reform of copyright (May-June): the role of digital platforms and intermediaries; the viability of the rules on exceptions and private copying; observance of the subsidiarity principle. The two ministers also highlighted the importance of the principle of territoriality of rights for the viability of the creative sectors, and in particular the audiovisual and cinema sectors.
The joint declaration on culture and the media again repeats the ministers' determination to promote and protect cultural diversity in the reform of the directive on audiovisual media services and in transnational trade deals, such as TTIP. It also underlines the backing of France and Germany - joined by Italy - for an instrument to combat the illegal trade in cultural goods. At the Culture Council, Commissioner Tibor Navracsics pledged to examine this issue. He said he would open an impact assessment study at the start of 2016 to consider, inter alia, taxation and customs issues and the sums of money involved in the said imports. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)