Arvanitis questions the European Commission on press publishers’ rights in Greece
SYRIZA–PS MEP Kostas Arvanitis has submitted a formal question to the European Commission regarding the implementation of press publishers’ rights in Greece, seeking clarification on how compensation from digital platforms is calculated and warning of a potential undermining of the EU Directive.
Arvanitis notes that Greek Law 4996/2022 transposed Directive (EU) 2019/790 into national legislation, granting press publishers a related right to receive “fair and appropriate remuneration” from major online platforms that use journalistic content.
According to the MEP, recent reports indicate that the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT), acting as the national mediator for determining compensation terms, is considering excluding “indirect revenues” of major digital platforms from the calculation of payments owed to publishers. He stresses that such a move would drastically reduce the amount publishers receive and effectively render the related right an “insufficient tool for protecting journalistic creation.”
Arvanitis further argues that excluding indirect revenues would “distort the market” and “invalidate the intention of the European legislator,” who aimed to ensure a fair share for publishers in the digital economy by addressing the imbalance in bargaining power between publishers and global digital platforms.
In his question, he calls on the Commission to clarify whether this approach aligns with Article 15 of the Directive, to take measures ensuring its uniform and meaningful implementation across all member states, and to consider issuing guidelines or recommendations that would require indirect revenues derived from the use of journalistic content to be included when calculating compensation.
