Some long-awaited meetings with the Commission finally took place in April. The authors who joined us were a reminder of why our work is so important. We collaborated with a broad MEDIA coalition to advocate for EU funding. We also submitted our response to the AVMS Directive consultation, our main challenge was ensuring that cultural priorities remained central within a survey framework focused on simplification and cost-cutting.
This month, SAA Chair Barbara Hayes and Vice-Chair Patrick Raude joined us to participate in two high-level meetings at the EU Commission.
On 13 April, we had the pleasure to meet Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen for the first time. We introduced her to the SAA’s perspective on three topics: AI and authors' rights, the AVMS Directive review, and the DSM Directive review. To illustrate the impact of European actions (and inaction), we were joined by two authors: Saara Saarela, a Finnish film director and Angelo Tijssens, a Belgian screenwriter. Saara talked about how the second season of the popular Finnish TV series that she directed was pirated on TikTok in full length, and how she will never know how the content will be used. Angelo explained that thanks to his authors' rights, the success of his first feature film had enabled him to develop his next projects. We hope that these real-life encounters stayed with Ms Virkkunen. Often a face and a story do more than any position paper. Read more.
On 24 April, we met with Renate Nikolay, Deputy Director-General of DG Connect. We discussed the same issues as with EVP Virkkunen, but we had more time for each issue. AI and copyright however made most of the discussion: we championed the ART of AI (authorisation, remuneration and transparency) and urge the EU Commission to establish a licensing framework recognising CMOs as the practical solution for collective licensing of AI training and uses of protected works, and remuneration of the authors.
In terms of capacity, we are clearly outnumbered by the lobbyists from all the big tech companies established in Brussels, and it is apparent that Commission executives don't meet with authors’ organisations very often. That makes it even more important that when we do get in the room, we make it count.
A topic that unites the European film and audiovisual sector is its shared support for the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme, which has promoted European cultural diversity and artistic freedom for 35 years. As a part of the coalition, we are calling on the next generation of funding, the AgoraEU Programme, to build on its success (read our joint statement). We also issued another joint statement together with the press sector to emphasise that the AgoraEU Programme should keep the film and audiovisual sector separate from the media and press sector. These sectors have different economic models, regulatory frameworks and market dynamics, and therefore require each their own tailored policy approaches and dedicated financial support (joint statement).
Moreover, as the SAA, we are also encouraging the Parliament's AgoraEU rapporteur Emma Rafowicz, to address in her draft report the importance of making sure that future beneficiaries of EU funding respect authors' rights and fair remuneration, and make ethical and transparent use of AI.
These topics will be further spotlighted during the Cannes Film Festival.
Most of my desk time this month went to preparing our responses to consultations on the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. We're answering to the public consultation on the evaluation of the Directive, and to another questionnaire from consultants. The latter was particularly challenging because it was biased in its approach. It drew on pre-defined combination of measures aiming at simplification and cutting costs only, with no attention to possible negative impact on some stakeholders and on the cultural diversity objective of the directive. Read more about our work on AVMS.
Regarding cultural diversity, I recommend reading Luisiana's blog post, a thoughtful reflection on the role of CMOs beyond revenue collection, inspired by AG Szpunar's opinion in case C-840/24. Well worth a read.
I will be travelling in May. First, I will go to the Cannes Film Festival. Then, I will attend the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights meeting in Geneva. Later, I will attend the General Assembly of our sister organisation CISAC, where they will celebrate their 100-year anniversary.
Now, I've wrapped up my final to-do's before going on holiday. I will be back on May 7. In the meantime, please feel free to contact my colleagues!
Warm regards,
Cécile
