BRUSSELS - MEPs have rejected a committee
proposal to begin negotiations to update copyright laws for the digital age.
Parliament’s plenary voted by 318
votes to 278, with 31 abstentions to reject the negotiating mandate, proposed
by the Legal Affairs Committee on 20 June. As a result, Parliament’s position
will now be up for debate, amendment, and a vote during the next plenary
session, in September.
After the vote, the rapporteur,
Axel Voss (EPP,DE) said:
“I regret that a majority of MEPs
did not support the position which I and the Legal Affairs Committee have been
advocating. But this is part of the democratic process. We will now return to
the matter in September for further consideration and attempt to address
peoples’ concerns whilst bringing our copyright rules up to date with the
modern digital environment.”
European Parliament’s rules of
procedure provide that if at least 10% of MEPs (76) object to opening
negotiations with the Council based on the text voted in committee, a plenary
vote will be held. By the deadline of midnight on Tuesday, the requisite number
of MEPs had lodged their objection.
Source: European Union official website