The European Parliament has adopted yesterday with a large majority the own-initiative reports of Monica Semedo MEP on the situation of artists and the cultural recovery in the EU and of Dace Melbārde MEP on Europe’s Media in the Digital Decade: an Action Plan to Support Recovery and Transformation.
The European Coalitions for Cultural Diversity welcome this important vote. Both reports emphasise the need to take action to protect and promote EU cultural diversity given the adverse impact of the pandemic on the EU cultural sector, its intrinsic value and the fundamental role of culture in society.
With this vote, the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) ask the European Commission to propose a European Statute of the Artist which would set out a common framework for better working conditions and minimum social standards for artists and creators.
The crisis has indeed shed light on the precarious situations of artists and freelance workers in the creative industries in Europe and the need to strengthen their rights.
In addition, MEPs ask the Commission to take all relevant action to counterbalance the disproportionate power of the global online players and their domination of the data and advertising market, and to foster transparency of algorithms and recommendation systems to ensure a fairer presence and visibility of European works on online platforms.
Finally, the European Coalitions welcome the recommendations of the EP on the need to preserve and strengthen the legal underpinning of the EU audiovisual sector to protect against piracy, buy-out and work-for-hire contracts, and to allow the availability of EU works across the Union without undermining the current licensing systems.
Press contact: Laure Gicquel – contact@europeancoalitions.eu