Marietje Schaake (ALDE). - Mr President, this is only one hurdle towards much-needed broader, EU-wide copyright reform and the completion of our digital single market.

Our goal was to give artists more influence and choice over the rights to their works. We managed this by forcing CMOs to be more transparent, by giving creators a stronger role in the governance of the organisations, and also by allowing for non-commercial licences, such as Creative Commons. It is essential that collective management organisations pay creators swiftly. The Commission assessed the value of royalties at no less than EUR 3.6 billion in 2010. CMOs should do what they can to find the rights-holders and should be proactive in ensuring good governance throughout.

The second part of the directive establishes the criteria a CMO has to fulfil to grant multi-territorial licences for musical works for online use. Pan-European licences will now be available. For this House, measures to protect the position of smaller CMOs and smaller language regions were essential in preserving our much-valued cultural diversity.

These proposals are only part of what needs to happen to match copyright management with the opportunities that the digital era brings. Although the Commission is, sadly, dragging its feet, I am sure the call for reforms from our citizens will only get stronger. This new directive must not be used to further delay the modernisation and harmonisation of European copyright laws.