FERA, FSE and UNI MEI hold joint project “Strengthening Collective Bargaining for Audiovisual Creators” closing seminar in Brussels, BE

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The landmark event, part of FERA FSE UNI-MEI joint project “Strengthening Collective Bargaining for Audiovisual Creators”, gathered 62 participants from 21 countries on May 11 & 12, 2023 in Brussels, Belgium.

Bill Anderson, British director and FERA Chair of the board, and Caroline Otto, German screenwriter and FSE President, welcomed participants to this closing in-person gathering to take stock of the progress made thanks to this unique collaboration between the screenwriters’ and directors’ European communities, organized by their federations FERA and FSE, UNI MEI and with the support of the European Commission.

 

The first session titled “Nearly transposed, but not yet working. What now for the Copyright Directive and the legislative agenda of the EU?” kicked off on May 11 with presentations on the transposition of the 2019 Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (CDSM) provisions on fair remuneration of authors’ and perfomers’ in exploitation contracts by European Commission DG CNECT Copyright Unit Legal and Policy Officer Ida Dojcinovic, and on the joint project Database comparing national transpositions on these provisions in 10 Member States, and Project expert & Lecturer in Intellectual Property and Information Law at the University of Glasgow CREATe Centre Dr Ula Furgal.

Despite a number of challenges raised by a slow, sometimes frustrating transposition process at national level, the acknowledgement of the systemic weak negotiating power of individual authors and harmonised provisions in EU law to address it represent a significant improvement and key leverage for the audiovisual creators’ community at a time of sea-changes for the industry.

The session continued with a prospective panel discussion with authors’ and performers’ representatives from various cultural sectors featuring European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) Secretary General Marc du Moulin, European Writers’ Council (EWC) president Nina George, and the International Federation of Actors (FIA) General Secretary Dominick Luquer, and was co-moderated by FERA CEO Pauline Durand-Vialle & FSE Executive Officer David Kavanagh.

The exchange explored various short and long-term common issues for the European creative community, ranging from the rise of global players in the European market, changing audience behaviour in the digital era and latest tech development which stand to transform the creative process and authors’ relationship to their work such as Artificial Intelligence.

The session ended with a remote intervention from Michele Mulroney, Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) West board and negotiating committee member and screenwriter, on the ongoing WGA strike in the US.

 

The second session “Collective bargaining – great idea, but how do you do it?” opened with a presentation by European Commission DG COMP European Competition Network and Private Enforcement Unit Policy Officer Jean-François Guillardeau on European Commission guidelines for self-employed collective bargaining & social dialogue at EU-level, followed by remarks from UNI Europa Regional Secretary Oliver Roethig, and a moderated exchange with participants. Project expert Barbara Persyn then presented another key deliverable of this joint project: the Index on Collective Bargaining agreements.

Experts and representatives of FERA and FSE’s networks then heard from audiovisual authors contractual counterparts’ perspectives on the future in a panel discussion with European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Head of Brussels office Wouter Gekiere, International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) Managing Director Benoît Ginisty, Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT) Director Miruna Herovanu, and EuroCinema Déléguée Générale Juliette Prissard – moderated by Johannes Studinger, Head of UNI MEI.

A final exchange with the participants was concluded by FERA CEO Pauline Durand-Vialle & FSE Executive Officer David Kavanagh, underlining the importance of the collaboration between audiovisual authors professional organisations both at EU and national level, as these professionals stand to face continuous common challenges in the near future: building stronger collective representation and standing together as a united front remain key to ensure a sustainable future for European screenwriters and directors alike.

The FERA FSE UNI-MEI joint project “Strengthening Collective Bargaining for Audiovisual Creators” deliverables and resources will be made available at the end of the first semester 2023 through a dedicated website.

 

With the support of the European Commission: