TTIP & Culture in the European Parliament

April 14, 2015, 1:45 pm

On Thursday 16th April in the morning,  the  Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament gathers to discuss and adopt its draft opinions on the TTIP (see below for the full text) and Copyright. The meeting can be seen live here from 9.00 am.

The opinion the Culture Committee is expressing on the TTIP is an important step that some attempted to prevent in fear of opening scope for a revision of the resolution voted on May 23 2013 imposing “the exclusion of cultural and audiovisual services, including those provided online, to be clearly stated in the negotiating mandate”.

Despite the regular publication of documents by the European Commission, concerns over the TTIP results are still strong and probably motivated by the obscurity of the process makes very difficult to really grasp the state of negotiations.

Click on your favorite language to read the draft opinion on TTIP ( rapporteur MEP Helga Trüpel) to be discussed and approved on Thurday 16th April during the Committee on Culture and Education’s meeting:
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Update after the Committee for Culture and Education  (CULT Committee) meeting:  

Two of the most hot topics were today on the CULT Committee’s agenda: The opinion on TTIP (by MEP Helga Trüpel) and the opinion drafted by  MEP Isabella Adinolfi on the implementation of Directive 2001/29/EC. A large number of amendments had been filed by the MEPs. (77 for the opinion on TTIP, 121 for the opinion on the Directive 2001/29/EC )
The vote on the opinion on TTIP has been approved by a very large majority of 24 votes for, 2 against and 4 abstentions. Some of the 77 amendments have been voted with very slight majority for or against (often even with a difference of one or two voices).
On the contrary, the opinion drafted by MEP Isabella Adinolfi on the implementation of Directive 2001/29/EC (known as the copyright report)  for the Committee for Legal Affairs (JURI) has been rejected by 14 votes against (12 in favour and 4 abstentions). This means that the opinion of the Committee for Culture will not be added to the JURI report drafted by MEP Julia Reda, which will then be given to the European Commission.
Silvia Costa, President of the CULT Committee, explained that the only option available for the Committee’s MEPs to have their voice heard is to submit their amendments directly to the JURI Committee.

 

 

Glossary:

Opinions are drafted by a committee that is not responsible for the report. The committee can make some changes in it before it is voted (through amendments) and given to the responsible committee, which has to approve it before to insert it as an annex to the final report.

The Committe on International Trade (INTA) is responsible for the report. At the moment, 898 amendments to the report have been written by INTA for its draft report containing the Parliament’s recommendations to the Commission on the TTIP negotiations. 

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