Petra Kammerevert (S&D, German), rapporteur, presented, on Thursday 1 December, her draft report, deploring the incomplete implementation of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), to the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture (CULT).
“Member States sat on their hands for two years, waiting for a reminder from the Commission. And the European Commission should have put the Member States under pressure earlier and in a more definite way”, the MEP said, bitterly.
Revised in 2018, the AVMSD was to be transposed by September 2020. However, MEPs deplore incomplete or non-existent transposition, particularly in Ireland (see EUROPE 13050/27). “Implementation is now under way in Ireland, nevertheless, with regard to video service providers and video service obligations, the report is not very clear on these issues because most of the headquarters of those video service providers are in Ireland”, said Ms Kammerevert.
Strengthening and clarifying the AVMSD
The report calls in particular for monitoring the application of the 30% quota of European works in the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services, the measures put in place to ensure their visibility and the financial incentives for the production of audiovisual works.
It also stresses the importance of independent national regulators and the coordinating role of the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA). In particular, it advocates the use of self-regulation or co-regulation of the sector as much as possible, which is “quicker and more effective” than legislation, according to Ms Kammerevert.
It also calls for clarification of the “country of origin” principle and challenges to the retransmission of foreign propaganda via satellite (see EUROPE 13063/29).
Finally, Petra Kammerevert recalled that the AVMSD must remain a “cornerstone” of European media legislation and that, therefore, its scope must be well defined in relation to the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).
To read the draft report: https://aeur.eu/f/4ej (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)