mr president i believe that the intention of this initiative was genuinely about improving the social situation of performers as commissioner mccreevy and our colleague brian crowley have asserted but it does not in fact achieve this
unfortunately even the changes introduced by committee do not go far enough in improving the proposal
it is a proposal which i believe will ultimately reward those artists that are already successful and indeed reward the industry
i am baffled at the notion of extending the term of copyright whether it is to seventy years or ninety-five years and i am baffled by it not just because it is dubious and almost out of step with the digital age but also because quite clearly a move like that will primarily benefit industrial interests and not struggling artists
i believe notwithstanding all of the hard work and goodwill that meps should reject this proposal
i think the commission needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with the right proposal one that is not just about supporting performers and artists but that in real and practical terms will deliver precisely that
