EU Council Monitor - 16/01/09

Wednesday's session: Czech Presidency
"The economy and energy security are two priorities of the incoming Czech Presidency of the Union according to Czech PM Mirek Topolánek who addressed the House Wednesday. Later MEPs debated the crisis in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine gas stand-off.

Czech PM outlines 6-month programme
Mirek Topolánek began his six-month term of office by thanking the former French Presidency for its work: "it is not easy to take over the Presidency of the Council of the EU after France. I see only one way to rise to the occasion, with honour."" [Europa]

Ministers of Finance to Hold the First Meeting of the Ecofin Council in 2009
"On 20 January 2009 Brussels will hold its first meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) under the auspices of the Czech Presidency.

On the eve of the meeting a regular gathering of ministers of the Eurogroup will take place. Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek will open the meeting and present the Ecofin Council programme during the Czech Presidency. This part of the meeting is open to the public and a recording (and live broadcast) will be available at the Council website." [EU2009]

Czechs want VAT compromise by March
"EU finance ministers will on Tuesday (20 January) discuss how a compromise could be achieved by March on a proposal to reduce value-added tax (VAT) rates on labour intensive services. The Czech presidency of the EU will present a timeline to ministers for discussion following an agreement by EU leaders in December that they should “settle this issue by March 2009”.

Miroslav Kalousek, the Czech finance minister, said that an agreement could be reached on the issue, which has been discussed by member states for three years. “I believe we will be able to reach a compromise. I imagine it will be applied to a narrow range of goods and services,” Kalousek said in Prague on Thursday (8 January).
“We will try and put forward a compromise and not undermine each other with unfair competition.”" [EuropeanVoice]

Czechs seek agreement on alternative institutional plans
"The Czech presidency of the EU wants member states to reach agreement by the end of June on alternative plans for institutions, including the European Commission, that would be affected by the adoption or rejection of the Lisbon treaty by the Irish people.

Alexandr Vondra, the Czech deputy prime minister, told journalists in Prague last week that the Czech presidency would try to finalise alternative plans. “We have to be ready for both scenarios, that the Lisbon treaty is in force by the end of the year, or we have to act and co-operate in the EU under the Nice treaty,” he said. Vondra said that a special meeting of ministers responsible for EU affairs held in Prague on 8 January had discussed the future size of the Commission and the arrangements for nominating the next president of the Commission, both issues affected by the fate of the Lisbon treaty." [EuropeanVoice]

EU Council Monitor - 09/01/09

Boosting Creativity and Innovation in Europe: Official launch of the European Year 2009 in Prague
"The Czech Presidency of the EU and European Commission launched the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 on Wednesday, 7 January with the slogan “Imagine. Create. Innovate”. The Year was inaugurated during a ceremony in Prague by the Commission President José Manuel Barroso and the Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek. At the accompanying launch conference, the Ambassadors for the Year presented a report on creativity and innovation in the EU, whose message is that investment in education and in the skills and creative capacity of Europe should be the top priority of EU institutions and governments.

The conference to mark the launch of the Year was held in Prague on Wednesday afternoon, and was attended by a host of personalities including high representatives of EU member states, of the European Commission, members of the Czech government and several Ambassadors of the Year. The Conference ran in parallel to the meeting between the Commission and the Czech Government and was followed by the evening inauguration ceremony in the National Theatre in Prague." [Create2009]

Leading European intellectuals urge the EU to invest in Europe´s creative capacity
"A brainstorming session between nine Ambassadors of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 (EYCI) was held this morning in Prague, under the auspices of the Czech Presidency of the European Union. The roundtable conclusions will feed reflection, debate and policy-making all throughout the Year and beyond.

The Ambassadors present welcomed the decision of the EU to declare 2009 the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, particularly in the context of the current crisis, which creates opportunities for reform and change. Moreover, they expressed their commitment to contribute to the success of the Year and to foster long-term debate on these topics, crucial for Europe´s future position in the Word." [Create2009]

EU Council Monitor - 05/01/09

Launch Conference of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation
Venue: Senate of the Czech Republic, Prague
The aim of the European Year 2009 is to promote creativity and innovation as the key competence of all individuals. The European Year will be launched by an expert conference that will be opened with speeches by European Commissioners Ján Figeľ and Janez Potočnik, as well as Czech Ministers Ondřej Liška and Václav Jedlička. The tradition of declaring the European Year dates back to 1983, and the EU often chooses the themes together with the Council of Europe." [EU2009]

CZECH PRESIDENCY OF THE EU
New website now online [EU2009]

Czech Republic gets ready to assume EU presidency: Launch events planned in Prague and Brussels
"The Czech Republic will take over the presidency of the EU from France on 1 January, beginning a six month term in office. Although the Czechs will take charge when the EU institutions largely closed for the new year break, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and his team will face immediate challenges, not least the escalating crisis in Gaza.

The start of the Czech presidency will be marked by celebrations in Prague, where the city's giant metronome will be lit in EU colours at midnight on 31 December by Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra. There will be speeches on Czech television on 1 January by Topolánek, former president of the Czech republic Václav Havel, and leader of the opposition Jiří Paroubek. A video message will be broadcast from European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. There will also be a televised debate about the presidency, with anti-Lisbon Treaty campaigner Declan Ganley (whose Libertas Party has the support of Czech president Václav Klaus) among those expected to participate. The main launch event in Brussels - a gala ball - will take place on 30 January." [EuropeanVoice]

EU Council Monitor - 19/12/08

Czech ambassador outlines EU presidency priorities
"The Czech Republic’s top official in Brussels says that tackling ‘obstacles’ which ‘prevent Europe from fulfilling its economic potential’ will be one of the priorities of her country’s EU presidency
Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, Milena Vicenova also hopes that at the end of the six-month presidency “no-one will think that we Czechs are eurosceptic.”

The 52-year-old also pledged to “concentrate all our energy” on resolving the current impasse on the stalled Lisbon treaty. Vicenova, one of the few female ambassadors in Brussels, was outlining her country’s priorities when it takes over the EU presidency from France on 1 January.
“I know quite a few people will be asking whether the Czechs really are eurosceptic,” she said.
“There is no doubt that our presidency comes at no easy time for Europe and the rest of the world. It will be a real challenge.”

She said the presidency will focus on ‘3 E’s’ – the economy, energy and external relations.
On the economic front, she told a packed audience that the French presidency deserved praise for its “prompt, effective and efficient” response to the global financial crisis." [TheParliament]

Conclusion of the Council (11 and 12/12)
The complete conclusions. It includes:
“As regards action by the European Union, the European Council supports in particular: an increase in intervention by the European Investment Bank of EUR 30 billion in 2009/2010, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises” [Europa]

Paris ACTA meetings wrap up; we're safe until March 2009
"Negotiations on the controversial and largely secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) race ever onward, but the process isn't moving quite as fast as proponents had hoped. No deal will now happen before the end of the year, nor before a new US administration takes the reins in late January.

Another round of ACTA negotiations wrapped up yesterday in Paris, this one hosted by the EU and chaired by the French Trade Minister. Most governments involved in the process appear bent on saying almost nothing about it due the "delicate nature" of the negotiating process, but Japan's Foreign Ministry has released the barest of details from this week's meeting (and in English, no less).

The meeting description is bureaucratically bland ("Participants reaffirmed their goal to combat global infringements of IPR, particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy, by increasing international cooperation, strengthening the framework of practices that contribute to effective enforcement, and strengthening relevant IPR enforcement measures themselves." Fascinating!), but does note that countries involved shared information on "fighting IPR infringements on the Internet." It remains unclear what may come of such discussions, but it certainly sounds as though ACTA will in fact extend beyond creating a better enforcement mechanism for stopping crates of Simpsons rip-off T-shirts." [ArsTechnica]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 28/11/08

Monopoly of collecting societies' activities: infringement proceedings against the Czech Republic and Hungary
"The European Commission has decided to send reasoned opinions to the Czech Republic and Hungary on the grounds of obstacles to the freedom of establishment and to the freedom to provide services as a result of the monopolies granted to national rights management companies.

Czech and Hungarian laws provide that a single collecting society may be authorised to operate in their respective countries for each type of right and work. This monopoly granted to national companies bans collecting societies set up in other Member States from undertaking any form of activity and denies them the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services. The Commission has doubts as to the justification of those national measures in the light of their negative effects on two of the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the EC Treaty." [Europa]

The latest information on infringement proceedings concerning all Member States is available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/index_en.htm

EMI Music CEO Applauds Govt Action On ISPs
"EMI Music CEO Elio Leoni-Sceti has spoken of his support for the U.K. government's and others' attempts to get ISPs to tackle illegal file-sharing, while admitting the music industry failed to adapt to changes in consumer behavior. Leoni-Sceti appeared at U.K. media/telecoms regulator Ofcom's Next Generation Net Generation conference in London. Vivendi chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy was also among the business leaders at the conference.

The EMI Music CEO appeared on a panel, "Global Content Economy - Challenges for Business," alongside executives including Telefonica Europe CEO Ronan Dunne, Nikesh Arora, president EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) operations, Google, and Roma Khanna, president, global networks & digital initiatives at NBC Universal. Pledging to transform EMI into a "consumer-focused music company," Leoni-Sceti commented: "The new EMI wants to be the most consumer-led, innovative music company in the world - that means listening to our consumers and putting the consumer experience at the heart of our business strategy."A consultation process was recently concluded by the U.K. government, following this summer's brokering of a Memorandum of Understanding between the music industry and ISPs. Part of the agreement includes a pledge by ISPs to write letters to customers who are involved in illegal peer-to-peer activity." [BillBoard] [CMUDaily]

Artists send video message to PM over copyright term
"More from the campaign to persuade Gordon Brown to increase the recorded music copyright term now - and this time the protests have been presented in video form. As much much previously reported, record labels and recording artists have been lobbying the government regarding extending the recording copyright from 50 to 95 years for ages now; the former because the legendary recordings of the rock n roll era are about to come out of copyright; the latter because there is a whole generation of session musicians who will soon start to lose the royalty payments that stem from recordings they worked on in the sixties, which for some are a bulk of their earnings. " [CMUDaily]

EURO LICENSING: THE HARD ROAD AHEAD
"There is no 'us' and 'them' any longer. With nearly 50% of all music consumed by Europeans classified as international repertoire and the rest considered to be essential local music preserving the cultural identities of each European Union (EU) nation, the troubled state of licensing digital publishing rights is not, as some said a few years back, 'a European problem.' After intervention by the European Commission (EC), the current structures for licensing these rights are seen by some to be as volatile as the financial markets. How everyone responds to the situation will inevitably impact the future of recorded music, music publishing, digital and mobile music services and broadcasting -- and everyone else in the creator-to-consumer chain of distribution. Considering the importance of intellectual property as a significant contributor to worldwide economies, figuring out solutions during this economic crisis, in the midst of the physical-to-digital music transition, becomes even more essential.

Music Confidential reached out to senior executives and lawyers throughout Europe to shed some light, and perhaps a bit of insight, on problems and possible solutions following the EC's mandate to restructure rights and operating procedures among the network of collecting societies. Despite an extraordinary amount of angst and concern among the interested parties, there are opportunities and some optimism to report." [MusicConfidential]

Conference calls on WIPO to Boost Support for Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights
"A conference on the future evolution of collective management of copyright and related rights in Europe has called on WIPO to step up efforts to help stakeholders address the emerging challenges facing collective management. Participants urged WIPO to strengthen the copyright infrastructure so as to support creative industries and promote social, economic and cultural development.

The Conference on Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights in Europe, held in Brussels from November 24 to 25, 2008, was organized by WIPO in association with the European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC) and in cooperation with the Association of European Performers’ Organisations (AEPO-ARTIS), and the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC)." [WIPO]

The European IP market needs a revolution
"The European R&D and patenting world treat intellectual property as a legal right and nothing else. Most companies and investors want that attitude to change. If it does, a number of exciting possibilities can begin to emerge.What Europe needs most is intermediaries from outside the law
A recent EPO survey revealed that 60% of European companies do not care if the inventions and technologies they find and use are patented or not (which surely helps explain the modest levels of patent registrations in many EU countries!). At the same time, however, countless European surveys have revealed that technological innovation is the priority for the EU's institutions, as well as national and regional governments, industrial associations and others; and that European companies are very keen to improve technological innovation (including R&D outsourcing) as key weapon in the global competition race.
These conflicting findings tell us a few key things about the type of IP market Europe should adopt, given that improving its existing one is an official target, as set out by EU leaders in the Lisbon Agreement."

The complete article (and the accompanying charts) in .pdf format is saved on the shared file (in the Monitoring section). A text version can be read on:
http://66.102.9.132/search?q=cache:3BkUjCSMfg8J:www.wipo.int/sme/en/best_practices/pdf/european_ip_market.pdf+WIPO+European+IP+Market+needs+a+revolution&hl=nl&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=be [WIPO]