On Friday, January 12, 2024, MEP Irena Joveva received a response from the Vice-President of the European Commission, Commissioner for Values and Transparency Vera Jourová, and the Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, to her public letter calling for a revision of the European Directive on Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS Directive) by supplementing or extending the obligations for platforms offering (streaming) video content in Member States to translate subtitles or dubbing into all official languages of the European Union.

In a personal response to MEP Joveva, Vice-President Jourova and Commissioner Breton stressed that they share her goal of protecting linguistic diversity and are working towards this through a number of funding initiatives, such as the MEDIA programme under Creative Europe and a call for a study on the possibilities of exploring different European cultural content in the digital environment.

The key emphasis of MEP Joveva’s letter was that the aforementioned directive needs to be revised, which should also include provisions on respecting linguistic diversity, or extending the principle of non-discrimination to all audiovisual content, and that accessibility requirements for citizens through subtitling or dubbing should apply to all Europeans. Vice-President Jourova and Commissioner Breton stated that cultural and linguistic diversity remain the competence of the Member States, but at the same time assured that the European Commission would carefully examine Irene Joveva’s question and proposals as part of the evaluation process, and that they would also be “happy to involve her in the procedures”.

Upon receiving the letter, the MEP said:

“I am positively surprised that the two responsible Commissioners have taken such a thorough and individual approach to resolving the issue that I raised in my appeal. The European legislative process is indeed lengthy, but it is a very clear signal from the highest level of the EU executive, which could also mean that these companies are finally taking on the task of resolving this problem independently, i.e. before we make this an obligation at the level of the entire Union with the revision of the AVMSD. Slovenia has already taken a decisive step with the currently planned amendments to the Act on the Public Use of the Slovenian Language, but unfortunately this will not bring the desired solutions for video streaming content providers such as Netflix or Disney+, because due to the observance of the so-called country of origin principle, these companies in the EU fall directly and exclusively under the jurisdiction of the regulators in the countries where they are registered. The problem will be partially solved by adopting the recently agreed European Media Freedom Act, which will contain an article on the coordination of regulators of the Member States, which I sincerely hope will encourage the Slovenian regulator to make an appeal to regulators of other countries to respect linguistic diversity, i.e. to subtitling and synchronizing content into our native language, Slovenian. I have been trying for a long time to get these companies to do this independently, but due to their (too) slow responses, I am now trying to make these principles legally binding. I am convinced that the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of language should also be taken into account by private companies that offer their services in Slovenia and other EU member states. At a time when the Internet represents an increasingly large part of our lives, we must strive for equality for all European languages. This is a right that is imposed, among other things, by the fundamental treaties of the EU. I argue that subtitling and synchronizing content in the Slovenian language is necessary to prevent such discrimination, but at the same time I point out that languages on the Internet are also unequal in other areas, for example in the moderation of content and other provisions of the recently adopted legislation, the Digital Services Act. The aspect of language equality is also often overlooked in EU legislation and it is time to correct these injustices.”

We are also attaching the original letter in English and Slovenian for your reading.

In the last issue of the Pen supplement of the weekly Vestnik last year, MEP Irena Joveva shared her views on the current situation of the Slovenian language in public use and discussed the possibilities for improvement. Joveva, who was among the first to warn and call for an end to discrimination against the Slovenian language by some streaming content providers on the Slovenian market, emphasized: “Respect for linguistic diversity is truly a minimum requirement that should be self-evident even without legislative coercion, but it is clear that it will not be possible otherwise.”

In this regard, the MEP wrote to the CEOs of Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Netflix in 2022, and warned of linguistic discrimination and violations of Slovenian legislation at one of the plenary sessions of the European Parliament. Although she met with representatives of most companies, Joveva reminded the journalist that none of them had shown motivation to solve the problems related to the non-use of one of the official languages of the European Union, even though they are doing very well on the Union market.

“The statements, which implied, among other things, that it was not financially worthwhile for them, were unacceptable. I myself made it clear to them that I would continue to seek a solution in other ways, as it was more than obvious that the problem would have to be solved through legislative measures.”

When asked about the results of her efforts, the MEP replied that without a legally binding ban on language discrimination in the European Union market, including the digital one, we cannot expect consistent respect for the linguistic diversity of these companies.

Meanwhile, she also pointed out that the conversation with Apple representatives was somewhat more productive, but still insufficient. She therefore announced a new meeting with Apple representatives, where they will review the current situation and discuss further steps.

“Until there is a legally binding ban, instead of respecting languages and non-discrimination at any level, including linguistic, these companies will always say that they simply don’t have to do it, or they will solve the problem slowly.”

The MEP has also been actively involved in resolving issues within her remit in the European Parliament. As one of the parliamentary negotiators on behalf of her Renew Europe political group in the Committee on Culture and Education, she participated in drafting the text of the Digital Services Act, which entered into force in August last year. The legislative provision obliges online giants to take into account the language of the Member State and to employ moderators who can communicate in that country’s language.

The upcoming media freedom act, which is expected to be finally approved in the coming weeks, is also crucial for the MP. The text of the act also includes changes in the area of language discrimination and allows for cooperation between national regulators. This is extremely important for the MP, as streaming content providers often make excuses by stating that they are not based in Slovenia.

“We want to regulate this with two articles on the coordination of national regulators in the European Media Freedom Act, but for successful implementation and systemic resolution of the issue, we will also have to amend the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.”

Although the existing Audiovisual Media Services Directive already requires compliance with the principle of non-discrimination in commercial communications on grounds of sex, ethnicity, religion, age or sexual orientation, Joveva explained that the already enshrined principle of non-discrimination should also be extended to prohibit linguistic discrimination.

In order to achieve these goals, the MEP, in a public appeal to the European Commission, highlighted the importance of including an explicit prohibition of linguistic discrimination in this directive, and discussions on implementing this amendment are already in full swing.

”At a time when the Internet is an increasingly important part of our lives, we must all work together to ensure the equality of all languages in the European Union, as this is essential for their survival and continued existence, including Slovenian. The legislative process in the Union is usually long-lasting, but this does not mean that we can sit idly by and wait forever for multinationals, who will not do much without concrete pressure, especially legislative pressure.”

text by Maja Hajdinjak

Published in Vestnik: 28.12.2023

Photo: Anže Petkovšek

My formal education was slowly coming to an end, so I had to think about what and how to continue. Friends often encouraged me to apply for the tenders they sent me, and among them was also the one for an internship with MEP Irena Joveva at the European Parliament in Brussels. I applied.

After the selection process was completed, I received an email saying that I had been selected for one of two two-month internships in Brussels. Honestly, it was completely unexpected and I was very excited about the upcoming experience. Unexpected, especially from the perspective that I have no formal or informal experience in politics, international relations or related fields, as I have a master’s degree in economics and business. Nevertheless, I have always been interested in politics, especially in relation to the European Union. My master’s thesis was also on the topic of copyright regulation in the European Union and the Republic of Slovenia, and this internship gave me direct insight into the very heart of the process of creating certain regulatory frameworks.

On my first working day, I was met in front of the Parliament by my colleague Elma, with whom I shared an office throughout my internship. I can only speak highly of Elma, as she is a master of networking, speaking foreign languages, and an extremely knowledgeable and open person who is always ready to help. The other two members of the Brussels team, Žana and Rok, also made a big impression on me on the first day when they welcomed me so casually and then, over lunch, confidently explained to me about the documents and articles they were currently working on. Of course, I must not forget Irena, who completely breaks the stereotype of the lofty politician. Irena is relaxed, smiling, always ready to talk, and at the same time, she is maximally professional in her work. What impressed me the most is definitely her diligence in her work and how this work affects people.

The Parliament, as a building, is indeed a huge modern labyrinth, but honestly I didn’t have any major problems with orientation, as our offices were on the third floor, which is the so-called connecting floor, and therefore navigating the Parliament is so much easier.

In the first week already, I was exposed to the dynamics of work in the Parliament, as we were waiting for a “mini-plenary” lasting two days. Unlike the usual plenary week, which takes place in Strasbourg, this one takes place in Brussels. This experience was undoubtedly a welcome shock and an extremely interesting event for me. On the first day of the plenary session, actress Cate Blanchett also addressed the MEPs, which caused a real small chaos in front of the hall. Colleagues in the office even mentioned that they had not experienced such crowds since Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech.

The team made sure that I got to know all aspects of working in the Parliament, which I am very happy about, as I had the opportunity to participate in an extremely important work. I heard from fellow interns in other offices that this is not such a common practice and that interns are largely responsible for answering the phone and answering emails. Elma definitely made sure that my experience would not be similar, as she not only guided me in my daily tasks, but also guided me from one session to another, to political group meetings, events and so on. During the daily walks to the chambers, she always explained to me who the passers-by were and what they were doing, so I am not exaggerating when I say that she is a master of networking, as she knows most of the staff in the Parliament. During the sessions, she provided me with additional information on the topics under discussion and accompanied them with local wisdom, sometimes even with quotes from poems.

Entering the life and work in the Parliament also required some adjustment, as I do not have practical political experience, unlike most employees of this institution. With this in mind, I took a serious approach to reading the news every day, following daily events, so that I could follow all the events that unfolded day after day.

Brussels, the city of the “bubble”

Living in Brussels, unlike working in the Parliament, was a bit less pleasant. During the entire internship, I only saw the sun twice. We also had rain, and later it often snowed, but this kind of weather is supposed to be typical of Brussels in the autumn and winter.

What surprised me the most was the lack of organization of the municipal system in the city. Instead of dumping waste in large garbage cans, they place their garbage bags on the sidewalks and in front of apartments several times a week, which are later picked up by municipal workers. In other words, you are often accompanied by piles of garbage bags when you walk through the city.

However, the Christmas decorations, lights and the Christmas market itself are wonderful and create a magical atmosphere and fun for everyone. The city also impresses with interesting cultural attractions and museum exhibitions, which I enjoyed visiting on weekends. I visited the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, which is huge and offers a lot of different exhibition spaces, and I also attended a few smaller exhibitions, for example the Tim Burton’s Labyrinth exhibition, which presents the director’s work in a very interesting and innovative way. I also took the time to visit the Belgian cities in the area and saw Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges. All the cities surprised me very positively, especially Ghent with its charm and a really picturesque city center. I also attended a rock concert in Brussels, so there was no shortage of free time activities during the internship itself and I really made the most of my time in Belgium.

PreviousNext