MEPs express concern about EU Commission's proposed guidance on the transposition of the Copyright Directive

By Emmanuel Legrand

Officials from the European Commission’s DG Connect have met virtually with EU lawmakers after they voiced in a letter their concern about the Commission's proposed guidance on how EU members should transpose the Copyright Directive, in particular Article 17, which relates to the liability of digital service providers. 

  The meeting, which took place on February 12, was attended several MEPs, including Sabine Verheyen, Chair of the Culture Committee at the Parliament, Axel Voss, Sylvie Guillaume, among others, and by the Director-General of DG Connect, Roberto Viola, and Giuseppe Abbamonte, responsible for media policy at DG Connect.

A positive dialogue

  Spanish MEP Ibán García, who initiated the reunion, commented on Twitter: "Positive dialogue with @EU_Commission to ensure proper guidance of art 17 Copyright, essential for creators to earn a decent living."

  Throughout 2019, the Commission held a series of consultations with stakeholders in order to come up with a consensus on how to deal with Article 17. However, several countries, led by France, objected in a non-paper to the approach taken by the Commission, which they saw as drifting away from the letter and the intent of the Directive. The same concern was expressed by MEPs in their letter to the Commission.

Need for a different approach

  “The current approach to the Guidance would not properly reflect the agreement hardly achieved after long negotiations on Article 17 of the Copyright Directive,” reads the letter, seen by Euractiv. “The latest response to Parliamentary questions on this matter by the Commission and recent public remarks made by members of DG Connect services have not helped to assuage these concerns."

  Sources in Brussels suggest that the guidance draft will be made public around mid-March of this year.

  The Copyright Directive is due to be transposed in EU members States' national legislation by June 2021, and so far few countries have completed the process.