Ms Paunova (GERB/EPP) was quoted saying that the digital single market is one of the main priorities of the European Union as a whole, and that she found it ‘encouraging’ to see fellow representatives of different political groups and member states coming together to work for advancing the understanding of digitalization and its role in the economy and society. The comments were made during an event introducing the EP’s first working group on digital issues, also attended by EC vice president and digital single market commissioner Andrus Ansip. The group is an informal network aiming to provide a forum for interested stakeholders to discuss current challenges and look for solutions together.
The reception, which took place on Wednesday, 28th of January 2015 at the Parliament in Brussels, saw the Bulgarian MEP discuss the existing legislative framework for protecting digital copyright and re-state both the Parliament and the European Comission’s commitment to updating it to reflect the changing realities of the market. Ms Paunova, herself EPP’s shadow rapporteur for the report on the Implementation of EU’s Copyright Directive at the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO), underscored the importance of having any new legislation be more balanced and aligned to the interests of authors/copyright holders, and end users alike.
Vice-president Ansip, in turn, congratulated the newly established group and pledged his full support in achieving its goals, including reviewing copyright laws, abolishing roaming charges and safeguarding net neutrality. The Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy is expected to be completed by May of this year, with the official unveiling of its copyright legislation amendment proposals scheduled for September.
The event was attended by a number of MEPs and Commissioners, as well as representatives of NGOs and the private sector, all of whom were also addressed by Vint Cerf, one of the Internet’s creators, in a video message.