Joint statement by Vice-President Ansip and Commissioner Gabriel on the European Parliament’s vote to start negotiations on modern copyright rules

The European Parliament adopted yesterday its negotiating position on the Copyright Directive proposed by the European Commission in September 2016.

Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip and Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel welcomed the outcome in a joint statement: “It is a strong and positive signal and an essential step to achieving our common objective of modernising the copyright rules in the European Union. Discussions between the co-legislators can now start on a legislative proposal which is a key element of the Digital Single Market strategy and one of the priorities for the European Commission. Our aim for this reform is to bring tangible benefits for EU citizens, researchers, educators, writers, artists, press and cultural heritage institutions and to open up the potential for more creativity and content by clarifying the rules and making them fit for the digital world. At the same time, we aim to safeguard free speech and ensure that online platforms – including 7,000 European online platforms – can develop new and innovative offers and business models.” The full statement and further details can be found here.