The Authors’ Group deeply regrets the slow pace of implementation of the 2019 Copyright Directive and calls on all EU Member States which do not comply with the Directive to engage urgently in a faithful and prompt implementation.

Brussels, 7 June 2021

Today’s date marks the deadline for EU Member States to implement the 2019 Copyright Directive, intended to benefit authors and performers by improving their contracts and providing for a fair and proportionate remuneration for the use of their works. However, only a handful of EU Member States have now effectively transposed the Directive.

While we acknowledge the impact of the pandemic on this delay, the Authors’ Group deeply regrets such a slow pace of implementation, and its concrete consequences. As the COVID 19 crisis has a detrimental and long-lasting impact on our members’ livelihoods, those delays can only exacerbate the current situation and perpetuate a system already acknowledged by the Directive to be unfair and inefficient.

We therefore call on all EU Member States which have not done so already, to engage urgently in an ambitious transposition and take into account our recommendations for a thorough and faithful implementation process in national legislation, consistent with the spirit of the Directive. We also ask the European Commission to monitor closely the situation and launch infringing procedures where necessary.

As the rise of streaming platforms on the EU market has been accelerated by the pandemic, it is more urgent than ever to ensure that authors can benefit from their creative successes when their works are exploited, in particular online. Let us not miss this opportunity to promote a sustainable future for Europe’s authors and future generations who want to write, compose and create.

–> Read the feature on Publishing Perspectives

The Authors’ Group consists of the following associations: European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA), European Writers’ Council (EWC), Federation of European Film and TV Directors (FERA) and Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE).

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ECSA (European Composer and Songwriter Alliance) – The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) represents over 30,000 professional composers and songwriters in 27 European countries. With 57-member organisations across Europe, the Alliance speaks for the interests of music creators of art & classical music (contemporary), film & audiovisual music, as well as popular music.

Web: www.composeralliance.org  / EU Transparency Register ID: 71423433087-91

EWC – The European Writers’ Council is the non-profit federation representing 46 national writers’ and literary translators’ associations and unions in 29 European countries, including EU Member States as well as Belarus, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, and Montenegro. EWC’s members comprise over 160.000 professional authors in the text and book sector, working altogether in 31 languages.

Web: https://europeanwriterscouncil.eu/ / EU Transparency Register ID: 56788289570-24

FERA (Federation of European Screen Directors) – The Federation of European Screen Directors (FERA), founded in 1980, represents film and TV directors at European level, with 48 directors’ associations as members from 35 countries. We speak for more than 20,000 European screen directors, representing their cultural, creative and economic interests.

Web: https://screendirectors.eu/ / EU Transparency Register ID: 29280842236-21

FSE (Federation of Screenwriters in Europe) – The Federation of Screenwriters Europe is a network of national and regional associations, guilds and unions of writers for the screen in Europe, created in June 2001. It comprises 25 organisations from 19 countries, representing more than 7,000 screenwriters in Europe.

Web: www.federationscreenwriters.eu/ EU Transparency Register ID: 642670217507-74