Convinced that culture must be at the heart of the European project and that it has its place in the reflection of the European Union on the digital transition, Fleur Pellerin, Minister of Culture and Communication, took note with interest of the European Commission’s guidelines on the digital single market.
The Minister welcomes the progress made by the Commission’s reflection on certain aspects of the copyright debate, in particular the desire to clarify the status of technical intermediaries and to improve compliance with copyright.
The Minister recalls that France is fully mobilized so that the copyright reform initiated by the commission puts at the heart of its priorities what is the very purpose of copyright: supporting creators and stimulating cultural diversity by ensuring access to works.
Fleur Pellerin also points out that the Commission has announced its intention to deal with the problem of the difference in VAT rates between the physical and digital worlds for newspapers and books. It once again calls on the Commission to act quickly, as it did on 19 March with its German, Polish and Italian counterparts.
Fleur Pellerin also welcomes the desire to modernise European audiovisual policy by including in the applicable European law all distributors of audiovisual content, including online.
In addition to this aspect, the Minister recalls that it remains to define an even more ambitious strategy for the development of cultural industries in Europe.
Lastly, Fleur Pellerin welcomes the Commission’s announcement of a consultation on the role of platforms and calls on the Commission to take a regulatory approach that is up to the challenge. Given the role of these actors in the economies of European countries and in the lives of our fellow citizens, it is essential that Europe gives itself the means to make them respect its choices of civilization, in the field of cultural diversity, freedom of expression and the fight against hate speech and intolerance.
Paris, 6 May 2015