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The European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the Commission have found a political agreement to make the copyright rules fit for the digital era in Europe and bring tangible benefits to all creative sectors, the press, researchers, educators, cultural heritage institutions, and citizens.

Online TV viewing has taken over TV watching habits, but online TV programming often remains unavailable in other Member States than the Member State of origin. The Commission aims at making it easier for broadcasters to clear the rights and facilitate licensing to the benefit of all Europeans.

The negotiators of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council, have reached a political agreement on the proposed copyright legislation on TV and radio programmes.

Online TV viewing has taken over TV watching habits, but online TV programming often remains unavailable in other Member States than the Member State of origin.The Commission aims at making it easier for broadcasters to clear the rights and facilitate licensing to the benefit of all Europeans.

On 1 October 2018, the EU ratified the Marrakesh Treaty. The Treaty facilitates access to print works in formats adapted for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled. The act took place in a ceremony at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva. It was carried out by Ambassador Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger of Austria, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, and Claire Bury, Deputy Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technologies at the European Commission.

The European Parliament adopted on 12 September its negotiating position on the Copyright Directive proposed by the European Commission in September 2016. Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip and Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel welcomed the outcome in a joint statement.

The portability regulation became applicable in all EU Member States on 1 April 2018. This administrative letter was sent by Roberto Viola, Director General of DG CONNECT, to the competent national authorities and states the position of the services of the Commission on the application of the Portability Regulation.

"I believe that we must make much better use of the great opportunities offered by digital technologies, which do not know any borders. To do so, we will need to have the courage to break down national silos in telecoms regulation, in copyright and data
protection legislation, in the management of radio waves and in the application of competition law. That way, we can ensure that consumers can access services, music, movies and sports events on their electronic devices wherever they are in Europe." - Jean-Claude Juncker

The European Union wants to protect authors and performers who are at the heart of content creation, strengthen the position of rightholders in their negotiations with online platforms, and ultimately make more legal content available to citizens in Europe. This factsheet explains why a reform of EU copyright legislation is needed, what are the objectives of the reform, what the EU has done to modernise copyright and what has been achieved.