Statement/ press release

On 10 March, the EU Parliament voted by 460 to 71, with 88 abstentions, to adopt the now famous “Voss Report”. The European Writers’ Council applauds this vote, which makes it clear that the EU stands for the protection of copyrighted creative works against their use by artificial intelligence (AI).

For several years, and increasingly since the advent of the first version of ChatGPT in autumn 2022, authors have fought to have our voice and perspective heard in Europe, with EWC lobbying tirelessly along with 13 European federations of authors and performers, representing millions of cultural professionals across Europe. The recent overwhelming vote for adopting the resolution “Copyright and Generative Artificial Intelligence – opportunities and challenges” (2025/2058(INI)), led by MEP Axel Voss, is a clear landmark for authors’ rights legislations, not only in Europe, but in the world. The report is an unequivocal message towards all EU institutions and national Governments: tech companies are not the driver of innovation, but the authors behind every work AI developers use – and the economic market for AI cannot be pursued without respect to authors’ rights legislations.

 

 

In the resolution, MEPs state major key principles, reminding Europe that EWC’ ART principle is no longer to be overlooked: the report clearly states that works have been used with neither Authorisation, nor Remuneration, or any Transparency; while mediocre AI products are generated en masse to compete directly with authors’ works and markets. Moreover, the report clearly states that EU copyright law should apply to all systems of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on the EU market, regardless of the place of training.

The EWC particularly welcomes:

• A formal clarification of the scope of the TDM Exception;
• Licensing shall be voluntarily for the author or further rightsholders;
• Call for title specific transparency within the documentation template as an obligation under the AI Act and Copyright legislations;
• The set up of a presumption of use;
• Call to set up labelling guidelines by the EU Commission, which shall go further than the currently developed Code of Practice for the Article 50 (AI Act).

So-called “AI” is an advanced technology that should abide by existing rules, just as any other business. Engaging in profitable activities should be profitable for all inputs, including authors, who should be able to give authorisation and retrieve remuneration from the use of their works.

EWC calls on now the EU Commission and the EU Council to adopt the long-needed approach to rebalance the unjust market, clarify the overinterpreted TDM exception, set red lines that all AI companies should not cross and have authors’ rights legislations applied respectfully. // Brussels, 11th of March, 2026. // Download the release

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About the European Writers’ Council (EWC): The EWC is the world’s largest federation of writers in the book sector and of all genres (fiction, non-fiction, academic, children’s books, poetry, etc.). With 52 organisations and professional guilds from 34 countries of the EU, the EEA and of non-EU areas, the EWC represents 250,000 writers and translators, writing and publishing altogether in 37 languages. The EWC is the world’s leading federation for the defence of book authors’ rights since 1977. europeanwriterscouncil.eu  – info@europeanwriterscouncil.eu – +32 2 290 92 50