17 Amendments of Lara COMI related to 2023/2019(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas Parliament requested that the Commission carefully assess the possible inclusion of electronically supplied services whose main feature is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter into the scope of the Geo-blocking Regulation; whereas the Commission report on the first short-term review of the Geo-blocking Regulation stated that, as regards audiovisual content, the Commission would engage in dialogue with stakeholders with a view to fostering the circulation of quality content across the EU; whereas this dialogue is included as Action 7 in the Media and Audiovisual Action Plan9 ; whereas each and every organisation of the audiovisual sector reminded the utmost importance of its territorial functioning throughout the whole stakeholder’s dialogue; __________________ 9 COM(2020)0784.
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas the film and audiovisual sector is of crucial importance audiovisual sector for the EU at both economic and cultural level; and whereas this sector is vital for safeguarding the EU’s cultural and linguistic diversity and media pluralism; whereas territorial and exclusive allocation of licensing rights and contractual freedom are sine qua non conditions for the proper functioning of the audiovisual sector in the EU;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines the remaining untapped potential for cross-border economic activities that could be encouraged by the removal of all geo-blocking barriers and the continued promotion of the free movement of products and services in line with the principles of the Geo-blocking Regulation, except for the audiovisual and book sector, in compliance with Directive 2006/123/CE which excludes it from its scope (Article 2.2(g)) and with Article 167 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which gives the cultural competence to Member States to ensure cultural diversity;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines the importance of the Geo-blocking Regulation in building a more robust, coherent and accessible internal market for all citizens and businesses in the EU, regardless of their place of residence or establishment; stresses that further steps need to be taken to achieve the full potential of the Regulation, including by strengthening the legal framework supporting the cross- border exchange of goods and services, lifting the principle of territorial exclusivity would be detrimental for the entire audiovisual sector but also for every EU citizen, since it could lead to an increase in prices for the public;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recognises that the Commission carried out its first review prwo Regulations already constitute an exceptiorn to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which means that changes to both consumer and trading behaviour triggered by the pandemic were therefore not reflected in the 2020 Commission report; recalls the changes in consumer habits and the rising preference for online services that were additionally strengthened by the COVID-19 pandemic; underlines, therefore, the need to draw further conclusions based on the new data in this area, as 12 % of EU businesses10 started or increased efforts to sell goods or services online due to theerritorial exclusivity of the audiovisual sector, such as the portability of a subscription to an online content service across Member States, as provided in Regulation (EU) 2017/1128, and the access to news and current affairs programmes and fully financed own productions of the broadcasting organisation across the European Union, as provided in Directive (EU) 2019/789, for which there was no appropriate evaluation to date except that the Commission carried out its first review prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; __________________ 10 Eurostat, ‘Online sales efforts on the rise due to the pandemic’, 11 April 2022.
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Considers that the report by the Commission’s services on the application of the Portability Regulation issued in June 2022 identified compliance issues by some VOD platforms that it undertook to investigate further; considers that no feedback on these key investigation has been provided to the Parliament leaving the sector blind on the marge of maneuver left to increase the cross-border access of more content online; underlines, therefore, the need to draw conclusions based on the new data in this area;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. RExcept for the audiovisual and book sectors that do follow cultural goals, recommends a broader and more detailed analysis to address concerns regarding the selective distribution and exclusive rights agreements that undermine the right of passive sale and competition in online and offline products and services distribution channels;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recalls that, according to Article 1(5) of the Regulation, it should not affect copyright law; emphasises that Parliament requested, in line with the review clause of the Regulation, that the Commission assess whethered that the Regulation should alsonot apply to electronically supplied services whose main feature is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter, including the selling of copyright protected works or protected subject matter in an intangible form, provided thateven if the trader has the requisite rights for the relevant territories11 ; __________________ 11 European Commission, ‘Study on the impacts of the extension of the scope of the geo-blocking regulation to audiovisual and non-audiovisual services giving access to copyright protected content’, 2020.
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the progress made in terms of the cross-catalogue availability of music, e-book, video game and software products and services, both in subscription and transaction-based models; regrets the limited improvements regarding the cross- catalogue availability of video content and live sports events, which contribute to consumers’ perception that the audiovisual services sector is applying the highest level of geo-blocking; points out that the financing of audiovisual and cinematographic works involves such large sums that it is necessary to maintain its territorial functioning;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Calls on the Commission to use the Creative Europe MEDIA programme to fund a selection of emblematic European films to be made available online in all countries and languages, with an appropriate promotional campaign to ensure that the works reach their audiences; calls on the Commission to fund more projects for dubbing and subtitling audiovisual works through Creative Europe MEDIA programme, and to work towards improving access to cinematic heritage works;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14 b. Recalls the importance of supporting a policy of European co- productions, reflecting the richness and diversity of European culture, and the importance of strengthening the international distribution of works;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Notes the popularity of different tools among consumers usedre is different legislative tools that exist which constitute an exception to avoid geo- blocking restrictions, especially for audiovisual content, such as the portability of a subscription to an online content service across Member States, as provided in Regulation (EU) 2017/1128, and the access to news and current affairs programmes and to fully financed own productions of the broadcasting organisation across the European Union, as provided in Directive (EU) 2019/789; considers it important to recognise that the steady modernisation and adaptation of the audiovisual services sector to new consumer expectations might be more effective than undermining the effective use of such tools;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Recognizes that citizens have access to an important quantity of audiovisual works and ebooks in each Member State; whereas demand for cross border access to audiovisual works and ebooks remains very low in the EU and whereas accepting this request EU would put in jeopardy the entire audiovisual and book sectors, affecting de facto consumer’s access to diverse and highly cultural European creations;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Calls on the Commission to start researches on the discoverability of European works online, in order to initiate reflections on the role of recommendation algorithms in the cultural sector, on the transparency of these algorithms, and to propose courses of action, notably in terms of standardization, metadata provision, interoperability and tools to facilitate public access;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15 c. Calls on the Commission to encourage, through the Agoratheka program that the on demand platforms give access to the data of their catalog available to the film browsers set up in each Member States; recalls that this information would enhance considerably the discoverability of works online;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Calls on the Commission to propose legislation obliging commercial providers of digital media content operating in multiple Member States to provide to the Audiovisual European Observatory and the rights holders data on the work they have online and their audience;