Brussels, 25/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - In a press release, the European group of author and composer companies, GESAC, regrets the shortcomings of the directive of "resale rights" earnd by artists on the resale of their works, which the Council and Parliament have adopted (see EUROPE of 20 July, p.7). "The general use of resale rights will abolish the discrimination which exists between artists of various nationalities", Gesac admits, stressing that so far, for example, the work of an English artist sold in Germany benefits from resale right. However, "Gesac can only deplore the successive alterations of the initial draft directive", which has led to: 1)an excessive transposition and transition period (10 years for the United Kingdom); 2) "lower rates than those currently applied in the European Union and a ceiling contrary to all principles of ownership (the right cannot exceed between 0.25% and 4% of the sales price, depending on its total amount); 3) a "much too high threshold" (the resale right can only be claimed when the sales price exceeds 3000 euro, even if the States which so want may apply a lower threshold). This threshold "deprives a large number of creative artists of their rights", notably for the sale of photographs, sketches and engravings, which rarely exceed this threshold, says Gesac.