Activities of José BLANCO LÓPEZ related to 2016/2072(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
A coherent EU policy for cultural and creative industries (A8-0357/2016 - Christian Ehler, Luigi Morgano) ES
A coherent EU policy for cultural and creative industries (short presentation) (debate) ES
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on a coherent EU policy for cultural and creative industries PDF (419 KB) DOC (91 KB)
Amendments (38)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 34 a (new)
Citation 34 a (new)
- having regard to the Working Group of EU Member States Experts report of November 2015 entitled 'Towards more efficient financial ecosystems: innovative instruments to facilitate access to finance for the cultural and creative sectors',
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas CCIs have dual value, as, domestically, they preserve and promote cultural and linguistic diversity, and strengthen European and regional identity, while sustaining social cohesion and contributing substantially to investment, growth, innovation and employment in the EU economy, and, externally, they help promote the EU’s shared values, such as respect for human rights, diversity and equality;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas cultural diplomacy strengthens the bilateral relations between European and third countries and, builds bridges between societies and contributes to better mutual understanding, while also being capable of acting as a driver of economic and social growth;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas according to a study by the European Patent Office and the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market, intellectual property rights (IPR)- intensive industries generate over a quarter of employment and over a third of the economic activity in the EU;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas almost 39% of EU GDP is generated by IPR-intensive industries, with trademark-intensive industries generating 34% of the total, design- intensive industries 13%, patent-intensive industries 14%, and copyright-intensive industries 4.2%;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas employment in the cultural sector is unlikely to be offshored, as it is connected to specific cultural and historical competences; whereas CCIs contribute significantly and more than any other sector to youth employment and have proved to be most resilient during the post- 2008 economic crisis; whereas employment in CCIs rose throughout the EU between 2008 and 2014, which suggests that not only are they more resilient in the wake of the crisis but are also creating additional employment;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas flexibility and mobility are indissociable in the context of professional artistic activity, and it is therefore important that the unpredictable and sometimes precarious nature of the artistic profession is offset by a guarantee of genuine social protection;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas it is erroneously argued that there is a higher degree of risk involved in investing in CCIs compared with other types of business, and whereas that argument is based, inter alia, on the fact that CCIs are IPR-intensive and that there are difficulties involved in using intangible goods as guarantees for financing;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas despite the fact that more creative content is being consumed today than ever before, in particular on services such as user-uploaded content platforms and content aggregation services, the cultural and creative sector has not seen a comparable increase in revenues from this increase in consumption; whereas the Commission is urged to take steps to put a stop to the transfer of value to ensure that authors, creators, performers and right holders receive fair remuneration for their works, and whereas this will result in more content for the public and a strong cultural and creative industry, as well as representing a guarantee to safeguard European cultural and linguistic diversity;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N a (new)
Recital N a (new)
Na. whereas in the industrial economy, investment was primarily focused on tangible goods, which were the main drivers of growth, while in today’s creative economy, intangible goods are the principal targets for investment, sources of value and drivers of growth; whereas the financing of CCIs should be seen in this context;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to develop a comprehensive, coherent and long-term industrial policy framework for the CCS to boost the competitiveness and development of the cultural and creative industries, and on the EU to include the development, promotion and protection of CCIs in its strategic goals and overall political priorities;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to design its future policies based on the following definition of CCIs: ‘cultural and creative industries are those industries that are based on cultural values, individual creativity, skills and talent with the potential to creategenerate continued innovation, wealth and jobs through generating value from intellectual property. They include the following sectors relying on cultural and creative inputs: architecture, archives and libraries, artistic crafts, audio-visual (including film, television, video games and multimedia), cultural heritage, design, creativity-driven high-end industries and fashion, festivals, music, performing arts, books and publishing, radio and visual arts’;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to identify specific indicators in order to monitor and analyse the cultural, economic and societal impact of its policies and regulatory proposals related to the CCS, and to possibly identify alternative data sources with a view to complementing and improving official statistics; considers it crucial to collect accurate data about the CCS in order to better determine its impact and dynamics and its role as driver of innovation and growth in the rest of the economy, thus helping improve its access to finance;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Encourages the Commission and Eurostat to include the CCS in their yearly statistics and to publish a sectorial biennial report on the developments of CCIs in Europe; Highlights the need to reinforce the work made by Eurostat and the Joint Research Centre to collect and produce information and data about the contribution of cultural and creative industries to other economic sectors;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that technology and infrastructure rely on the content provided by creators; calls, therefore, on the Commission to establish a legal framework for the value chain in the digital age that takes into account the specificities of the sector and leads to an improvement in theguarantees a fair remuneration ofor authors and creators, creators, performers and right holders, thus ensuring a thriving digital economy;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Considers that the digital revolution has changed the way in which citizens and companies are related and has opened new opportunities for the CCS to develop new ideas and business models, attract new audiences and expand their markets;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers that copyright and related rights constitute the legal framework for the European cultural and creative industries (CCIs) and form the basis for their ability to generate economic activity, competitiveness, employment, creativity and innovation; Asks the Commission, in view of the upcoming copyright reform, to create legal solutions which will suit creators, right holders and consumers alike in order to make clear that liability exemptions can only apply to genuinely neutral and passive online service providers and not to services that play an active role in distributing, promoting and monetising content at the expense of creators;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. AskUrges the Commission, in view of the upcoming copyright reform, to create legal solutions which will suit creators, right holders and consumers alike in order to make clear that liability exemptions can only apply to genuinely neutral and passive online service providers and not to services that play an active role in distributing, promoting and monetising content at the expense of creators;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Considers it crucial to adapt, strengthen and enforce rules on copyright and related rights in order to create an appropriate legal framework for the European cultural and creative industry and help it generate growth and jobs and become more competitive, creative and innovative;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls on the Commission to place greater stress on helping SME, SVE and micro-enterprises in the cultural and creativity sector to identify, assess and protect the value of their intellectual property rights;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights that piracy and counterfeiting remain a serious concern for CCIs and citizens alike; stresses that these illicit activities cause serious losses in terms of economic activity, growth and employment and can cause safety and health concerns that need to be addressed;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Considers it essential a strong commitment from the European Commission and the Member States to eradicate special tax treatments that allow certain enterprises, such as some technology giants, to reduce the payment of taxes to a minimum;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to improve a regulatory environment which does not impose undue burdens on a sector which consists mainly of freelancers, micro and small and medium enterprises;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. calls on the Member States to develop or implement a legal and institutional framework for creative artistic activity through the adoption or application of a number of coherent and comprehensive measures in respect of contracts, social security, sickness insurance, direct and indirect taxation and compliance with European rules, in order to improve the mobility of artists across the EU;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Reaffirms its position to exclude cultural and audiovisual services from any free trade agreement between the Union and third countries, since cultural and creative works are not goods like any others;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that creative skills need to be learnt from an early age in order to lay the foundations for the continuous renewal of creative talents; encourages the Member States to promote the incorporation of creativity and innovation at all levels of education and training, foster greater knowledge of the CCI in school curricula and improve their training, learning and qualification systems, enabling students in cultural and arts disciplines to acquire comprehensive training;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Encourages Member States to promote better knowledge on creative industries in the education system and support creativity through education, thus helping people to value creative industries products and services;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Encourages the Members States to promote cooperation between artistic schools, universities and businesses in the field of CCS and ensure a better match between the supply of skills and the demands of the labour market to boosting the sector's competitive potential; recommends the development of work- learn trajectories;
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Remembers that in most of the cultural and creative industries, and specifically in the media and culture sector, part-time and fixed-duration contracts, temporary work and economically dependent self-employment has spread rapidly; Remembers that the ILO has demanded that "fundamental principles and rights at work apply to all workers in the media and culture sector, regardless of the nature of their employment relationship"; Calls on the Commission and Member States to improve the social protection of these workers and to adapt social security schemes to the specificities of creative work, particularly in the digital world;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Supports the request made by the EESC calling on the European Commission to put forward an ambitious legislative package on mobility providing an appropriate solution to the problems of mobility within the EU for CCI workers and easing visa procedures for exchanges with third countries, guaranteeing basic social and labour standards;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15c. Takes note of the Communication from the Commission entitled 'A new skills agenda for Europe: Working together to strengthen human capital, employability and competitiveness', sharing the view that "in a fast-changing global economy, skills will to a great extent determine competitiveness and the capacity to drive innovation, they are a pull factor for investment and a catalyst in the virtuous circle of job creation and growth, they are key to social cohesion"; Considers it necessary to pay special attention to creative skills in the revision of the Key Competences Framework and the European Qualifications Framework;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Stresses the need to strengthen government policies in support of the CCS and improve culture budgets; Points out that public funding has suffered severe budget cuts in the Member States, posing a serious threat over European culture and creative work;
Amendment 363 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Notes that the Guarantee Facility within Creative Europe is one of the ways to address the pressing need for accessing loan financing for innovative and sustainable projects in the CCS; is concerned at the delay in implementing the Guarantee Facility; stresses the need to increase the budget of Creative Europe and the Guarantee Facility to effectively support European cultural and creative expressions and diversify the beneficiaries of funding;
Amendment 369 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Notes that the EFSI should help SMEs to overcome capital shortages and typically target projects with a higher risk profile than projects supported by EIB normal operations20 ; notes neverthelesregrets that until MayAugust 2016 no funding had been granted for projects in the CCS nor for projects in the education or training sector, which mainly consist of SMEs with a higher degree of risk; __________________ 20 Regulation (EU) 2015/1017. Regulation (EU) 2015/1017.
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve the investment environment and the conditions governing access to financing in the CCS and develop innovative financial instruments tailored to the needs and specificities of these sectors building on new and emerging financing sources such as microcredits and crowdfunding;
Amendment 377 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Highlights the need to better support the CCS companies in developing business skills to improve their ability to approach and convince external investors;
Amendment 378 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)
Paragraph 22 c (new)
22c. Considers it necessary to improve the role public investment banks play in the CCS by giving SMEs better access to credit and helping enterprises to expand their market and their export activities;
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Considers that in order to improve access to finance in the CCIs it is necessary to develop expertise in identifying and assessing the value of intangible assets which could be used as collaterals;