An EBU delegation met with Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip on 15 April for solution-orientated exchange of views to advance the EU Digital Single Market.

Under the EU Digital Single Market strategy, the European Commission has set out an ambitious agenda to reap the benefits of the digital transformation of the European economy and society.

The Commission Vice-President stressed the importance of supporting Europe’s creative sector and maintaining regular dialogue and collaboration with the EBU. Several policy initiatives in the pipeline, covering crucial subjects like copyright, spectrum and audiovisual media regulation, will undoubtedly benefit regular dialogue with representatives of the European audiovisual sector and the EU.

Leading the EBU delegation, Director General Ingrid Deltenre emphasized that the EBU wants to support the European Commission in its efforts and presented why Europe’s public service media (PSM) organizations are an essential component of Europe’s creative fabric and audiovisual sector, and a huge asset for the development and implementation of the Digital Single Market.  

PSM contribution to the digital economy and society is broad and multi-faceted. As well as developing and offering many highly popular and innovative programmes and services in the online world, PSM investments and initiatives strengthen trust and encourage access to digital services. To sustain this unique contribution, PSM will need long-term guarantees that their content can be accessed on an affordable and universal basis on digital networks.

Andrus Ansip and the EBU representatives also discussed how to modernise copyright, looking into how provisions of a 1993 Directive, which facilitated the availability of cable and satellite TV services on a cross-border basis in the EU Internal Market, could offer concrete ways forward for the licensing for online content.  

The Digital Single Market Strategy is one of the five top priorities announced by European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker for his five year term. The strategy is expected to be unveiled by the European Commission on 6 May.