33 Amendments of Christian EHLER related to 2021/2017(INI)
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
— having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 2021 establishing the InvestEU programme,
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)
Citation 22 a (new)
— having regard to the Council conclusions on safeguarding a free and pluralistic media system of 18 November 2020,
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 b (new)
Citation 22 b (new)
— having regard to the Council conclusions on "Europe's media in the Digital Decade: An Action Plan to Support Recovery and Transformation" of 18 May 2021,
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the cultural and creative sectors, of which news media and audiovisual sectors are an integral part, have been among the hardest hit by the fallout from COVID-19, especially small and medium enterprises; whereas these sectors are also expected to recover at a more moderate pace than the general economy; whereas the major impact of the pandemic on those sectors has caused damages and significant losses in revenues, creating further uncertainties which accelerated their ongoing digital transition and highlighted their deep fragmentation;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas, according to early estimates, the entire news media sector saw its advertising revenues drop by 20 % to 80 %; whereas media organisations face liquidity issues;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas quality, well-financed and independent news media and professional journalism are an essential pillar of democracy; whereas every effort must be made to increase media pluralism3 , independency, transparency, media literacy, better journalistic profession standards and safety of journalists, both offline and online; _________________ 3 No EU country registers a low level of risk in the market plurality area according to ‘Monitoring Media Pluralism in the Digital Era’, p. 50:https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/ 1814/67828/MPM2020- PolicyReport.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed =y
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the news media and audiovisual sector s plays a vital part in fostering the resilience and inclusiveness of our democratic societies; whereas the heterogeneity of thenews media and audiovisual sector is valso one of its strengths, helping to promote and strengthenue chain is made up of a variety of industries and sectors, all of whom contribute significantly to Europe’s cultural, linguistic, social and political diversity;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses the fallout of the economic downturn, and strongly reiterates its call on the Commission and the Member States to increase support available for the news media and audiovisual sectors, and the cultural and creative sectors more broadly; considers that allocations for the news media and audiovisual sectors should be increased across various multiannual financial framework (MFF) programmes; calls on the Commission to strongly encourage Member States to increase support for the sectors via the Recovery and Resilience Fund and their national recovery plans; notes the sectors' need of EU's and Member States' support to fully recover from the pandemic, become more sustainable and continue their green and digital transition;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. HWelcomes the adoption of the new Creative Europe programme and its budgetary increase; highlights the importance of the cross-sectoral strand in the Creative Europe programme, which for the first time provides for actions focused on the news media;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Invites the Commission to conduct a study, develop guidelines and share among Member States the best practices in public financing mechanisms on news media funding support in the EU, reiterates that the study should be carried out by independent bodies; calls on the Commission to develop guidelines and share among Member States the best practices in public financing mechanisms that will help the sector get back on its feet; highlights that distribution of public funding needs to be clear, independent and transparent;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that tax policies can help recovery and resilience of these sectors; encourages Member States with adequate fiscal scope to help boost media and cinema consumptioncreation, production, distribution and consumption of news media and audiovisual works, including cinema through VAT rates that accommodate this;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers that support for strengthening independent media and media and information literacy should also be an integral part of the EU’s foreign policy that will contribute to its public diplomacy, geopolitical visibility and strategic autonomy;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes with concern that global online platforms have a vast disruptive impact on the media sector, as they dominate the data and advertising market, and have radically changed audience consumption patterns; underlines that current legislation does not regulate pivotal issues in the information ecosystem such as access to and transparency of data, digital advertising, algorithmic transparency, platform accountability, must-show and other questions; considers that timely adoption of legislation to help address these shortcomings is a matter of urgency;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 9 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Highlights the need for availability of information and access to news media for every European citizen in their respective languages, in order for them to inclusively and actively participate in democratic processes;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Expresses concern about the disruptive trends created by the platforms, as they can undermine competition in the long term, and reduce opportunities for other actors; notes that such actions can create unfair competition conditions with an impact on independent production and distribution of audiovisual works; asks the Commission to monitor the situation closely and, if appropriate, take necessary action to make conditions for competition more equitable;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the progress made in working out a global solution to effectively taxing the digital economy, based on digital businesses paying tax according to their economic activities in each country, while avoiding double taxation; considers that these new sources of revenue should be channelled by Member States to support their audiovisual and news media sectors;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission and Member States to elaborate comprehensive European news media and audiovisual sector strategies that will provide tailored support measures for the entire news media and audiovisual sectors;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 14 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on Member States to properly implement Article 13.1. of the AVMSD that will ensure that media service providers of on-demand audiovisual media services under their jurisdiction secure at least 30 percent share of European works in their catalogues whilst also promoting it; highlights the importance of this for smaller cultural and linguistic markets, as it will boost cultural diversity in the broadest sense possible;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses the need for transformation in the entire news media sector, including through the digitalisation of newsrooms, the uptake of artificial intelligence (AI), changes and improvements to content creation and presentation, as well as better distribution and subscription models, including micro-payments; notes that the above require additional investment and skills that news media sector players often lack, especially those with small market share; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide tailored support for the digital transformation of the sector;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Acknowledges the importance of independent freelance journalism and its potential for growth due to lower entry costs and easier ways to reach an audience, facilitated by innovative publishing and payment solutions, which can improve the economic situation and working conditions for freelance professionals;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers that in order to help spur competition, the EU also needs to promote the creation and growth of small and medium enterprises and digital media start-ups through easier access to finance and a supportive framework that enables scalability;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Acknowledges that the existing creation and distribution models in the European audiovisual sector are largely based on territorial exclusivity, andUnderlines the need for territorial exclusivity for the sustainability of the audiovisual sector, notes that ownership of intellectual property rights is often held by independent producers and creators, creators and distributors; reiterates the fact that independent cinemas and independent film festivals are of key importance for the resilience of the sector;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 19 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Highlights the fact that VOD and TVOD currently dominate the audiovisual sector market; highlights the importance of territorial exclusivity and licensing rights for the survival and sufficient functioning of the audiovisual sector;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Is of the view that targeted measures to support co- production, translation, subtitling, pre-sale of future distribution rights and co-distribution could contribute to increasing the availability of diverse European audiovisual content;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 21 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Urges the Commission and Member States to create tools and support actions that pay attention to low audiovisual production capacity of some Member States; by encouraging investments to fulfil the VOD platform obligation to secure a 30 percent share of European works in their catalogue; notes that this is crucial for smaller cultural and linguistic markets within Member States;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Acknowledges that fair market competition between broadcasters and video on demand companies is paramount for the future existence of the sectors, as confirmed with the Audiovisual Media Services Directive; encourages the Commission to conduct a study on the impact of video on demand platforms on the European audiovisual market;
Amendment 255 #
21 b. Reiterates the need for tailored support, investment and public funding schemes that will help production, boost the circulation of European works in the European Union and beyond, and promote diverse European film across all distribution platforms, including cinemas, DVD, TV and online platforms;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)
Paragraph 21 c (new)
21 c. Emphasises the necessity to promote synergies between different EU funding schemes with specific amounts dedicated to the entire news media and audiovisual sectors, such as Creative Europe, Horizon Europe, InvestEU and Digital Europe;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 d (new)
Paragraph 21 d (new)
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses the importance of reducing the audiovisual sector’s carbon footprint, especially at the production stage, which accounts for most CO2 emissions; notes that digital solutions such as virtual production techniques can facilitate this reduction; believes that the current MFF provides a unique opportunity for funding greening projects and reaching net zero emissions within this decade; calls on the Commission and Member States to exchange good practices and voluntary standards for the audiovisual sector in order to meet EU's target to become climate neutral by 2050;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Highlights that film literacy is particularly important for making younger audiences aware of European cultural diversity; notes that European creators, producers, distributors and cinema have a key role to play; considers it necessary to develop a film literacy toolkit;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 24 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on the Commission to elaborate more comprehensive strategies for the European news media and audiovisual sectors and establish a regulatory level playing field to sustain investments in both sectors, including online platforms;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to further support the recovery and transformation of the entire news media and audiovisual sectors and to strengthen their resilience and market competitiveness in order to tackle future crises as effectively as possible; including financial and structural support for workers and SME's within the entire news media and audiovisual sectors;