Brussels, 29/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - Through concessions to the British, the Permanent Representatives of the Fifteen may on Wednesday reach agreement of "re-sale' rights paid to the benefit of artists when their works are sold on. The Portuguese Presidency is desperately seeking a conclusion to this issue before the meeting of the Internal Market Council, on 16 March.
The Fifteen are moving towards approval of a very dilluted version of the European Commission's draft. The minimum threshold from whch sales would be subject to the re-sale right would be situated at between EUR 3,500 and 5,000 (against EUR 1000 in the initial proposal) and the amount that the right could not exceed would be EUR 10,000. In a transition period of between 3 and 10 years (the United Kingdom was demanding 20 years), the re-sale right would only benefit living artists, before being extended to their heirs (until 70 years after their death). Member states would have five years in which to implement the directive after adoption.