Activities of Emma McCLARKIN related to 2012/2030(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on completing the Digital Single Market PDF (349 KB) DOC (254 KB)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on completing the Digital Single Market
Amendments (29)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas e-commerce has become an essential part of commerce and an important driver of consumer choice, competition and technological innovation, given that consumers and businesses differentiate less and less between online and offline in their daily life;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the benefits of globalisation can be more evenly distributed among consumers and SMEs thanks to the Internet and e-commerce;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that micropayments are increasingly used to pay for media and cultural content online and sees this as a useful tool in ensuring that rights holders are remunerated;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Recognises the economic and social potential which cloud computing has demonstrated thus far and calls on the Commission to adopt initiatives in this area in order to reap the benefits of such technology once the technology is more fully developed; acknowledges, however, the many technical and legal challenges arising from the development of cloud computing;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the Internet allows new businesses, in particular SMEs, to start up and existing companies to flourish by finding new market niches;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the Commission's initiative addressing the obstacles to the completion of the digital single market, most importantly the barriers inhibiting the development of legal cross-border online services; furthermore, stresses the need to improve consumer confidence when accessing legal cross-border services;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the internet and technology constitute tools enabling the internationalisation of SMEs and the increased engagement of SMEs in international markets and trade;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that fragmentation and lack of legal certainty are primary concerns in the Digital Single Market, and that inconsistent enforcement of rules in the Member States needs to be dealt with, such as different copyright systems, needs to be dealt with in order to increase choice for consumers;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises that new and expanding internet technologies and online services have increased demand for audiovisual and other cultural and creative digital content; notes, however, that there is currently insufficient supply to meet this demand and that availability is being hampered by; believes that innovative business models and different licencing structures need to be considered in order to increase availability while also maintaining copyright and ensure rights holders remuneration;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Notes the important link between the E-commerce Directive and the Internal Market Information System;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that SMEs form the backbone of the European economy and that it is therefore vital to develop an action plan for their integration into the Digital Single Market; furthermore stresses the urgent need for all European SMEs to have broadband access; emphasises that taking advantage of the possibilities of the digital economy and the Digital Single Market through innovation and the smart use of ICT would be of great help in enabling SMEs to exit the present crisis and create growth and employment;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to develop a strategy toStresses the importance of boosting digital entrepreneurship in Europe, to promote training for online traders and encourage SME development programmes focusing on innovative and dynamic SMEs from all sectors so as to ensure high growth potential and innovation and create new jobs in Europe, while also enhancing consumer trust;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to implement existing legislation in order to tackle barriers which hinder the growth of SMEs such as high market entry costs, cost of building brand awareness in multiple countries and IT system limitations;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to find solutions with a view to improving the EU framework for delivery services, in a way that will allow both businesses and consumers to fully benefit from the Digital Single Market; stresses that this framework should ensure accessible, reliable and speedy delivery, friendly service, an efficient and transparent returns system, and lower prices for cross-border delivery servicesand shipping services in order to not hinder cross-border trade and to increase consumer trust;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Regrets the push for more powers to block websites, which has always been a means of last resort and is an ineffective method of changing media consumption behaviour, and also legitimises censorship by oppressive regimesBelieves that powers to block websites cannot act as a panacea and can only be effective when used to compliment other tools within a clear and robust legal framework;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls on the Commission to find solutions to SMEs' difficulties in handling returns, shipping infrastructure problems as well as reducing costs involved in resolving complaints and conflicts cross- border;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Stresses the importance to consumers of efficient delivery, better feedback about delivery, as well as receiving their product on time, which were all identified as top concerns of consumers in the latest Consumer Conditions Scoreboard;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to examine the possibilities of simplifying and standardising the VAT rulthe VAT procedures for SMEs cross-border online transactions and of greater EU-wide harmonisation as regards rates and regimes, and to cut red tape with a view to ensuring a simpler, easier, and more efficient system; stresses that digital products such as e- books should be subject to the same VAT rate as the equivalent product in physical format;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Stresses that micropayments are increasingly used to pay for media and cultural content online and considers this a useful tool in ensuring that rights- holders are remunerated;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Recognises the economic and social potential which cloud computing has demonstrated thus far and calls on the Commission to adopt initiatives in this area in order to reap the benefits of such technology once it is more fully developed; acknowledges, however, the many technical and legal challenges arising from the development of cloud computing;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Calls on the Commission to enforce the Data Breach Notification provisions in the Telecoms package and make them available for all consumers in Member States;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Recalls the provisions in the Universal Service and Users´ rights Directive for telecoms operators to oblige Internet Service providers to deliver public service messages to all their customers; calls on the Commission to monitor and report to the European Parliament how many telecoms regulators are complying with these rules;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission to modernise the legal framework governing intellectual property rightscomplete the Digital Single Market by proposing and rapidly implementing the European Strategy for Intellectual Property RightPRs, and looks forward to its proposals on the matterfor legal tools on this matter; further believes that innovative business models and different licensing structures need to be considered in order to increase availability while also maintaining copyright and ensure right-holders' remuneration;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses that the consumer rights directive marked an important step forward in terms of increasing legal certainty for consumers and businesses in online transactions, and today constitutes the main consumer protection instrument for online services; calls upon the Member States to ensure its effective and rapid implementation; calls for a good code of practice for online businesses and supports the proposals of modal contracts in this regard; implementation of the CRD would form an important part of model contracts while existing retail practices would also need to be respected;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls upon the Commission and the Member States to develop and to give moradequate resources to effective instruments such as the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network, in order to guarantee that online traders apply the European rules on transparency and unfair commercial practices, thus ensuring a high level of consumer protection;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses the need to create a European Trustmark, which would guarantee that a business operating online fully respects EU law; it should be simple and well- structured, and should be filled with content that provides added value for e- commerce, thus boosting confidence and transparency, as well as legal certainty for both consumers and businesses by means of information; furthermore, stresses the need for an integrated approach to improve consumer confidence when accessing legal cross-border online services;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Welcomes the Commission's legislative proposals on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), and underlines the importance of their effective adoption to help resolve complaints and conflicts cross-border;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Welcomes greatly the new Commission communication entitled ‘European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children’, and encourages the Member States to promote the educational use of new technological developments for the protection of minors online;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on the Member States to strengthen and facilitate the development of information and communications infrastructures; welcomes the new ‘Connecting Europe Facility’ initiative, since it will be crucial for the effective implementation of the Digital Agenda for Europe targets set for 2020, promising broadband access for all; and the intermediate objective of every EU citizen having access to a basic internet connection by 2013;