A group of MEPs, including the Chair of the European Parliament’s Culture Committee, Sabine Verheyen, questioned the European Commission on Wednesday 3 November about the fact that it has still not acted on the European case law in the ‘RAAP’ case (see EUROPE 12563/30).
As a reminder, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled in September 2020 that EU law precludes a Member State from excluding performers who are nationals of non-European Economic Area (EEA) countries from the right to a single equitable remuneration for the distribution of recorded music.
Questioned before the summer of 2021 on the issue, the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, expressed concern for the sector and promised to launch a study. This has not yet been done.
MEPs also asked the European Commission to clarify how it intends to implement compensation for artists who are currently losing income.
“Time is running out if we are to avoid a financial disaster for a music sector that is already struggling because of Covid-19. This is why we are asking for answers and action from the European Commission”, said Mrs Verheyen. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)