Report on implementation of the Resale Right Directive 2001/84/EC

The Committee on Legal Affairs adopted the report by Marielle GALLO (EPP, FR) on the Commission’s Report on the Implementation and Effect of the Resale Right Directive (2001/84/EC).

The committee responsible recalls that the art market was valued at USD 10 billion in 2010 and almost USD 12 billion in 2012, and that the resale right accounts for only 0.03 % of those sums. It considers this to be an important market from which artists and their heirs should receive fair remuneration.

Members note that the information in the Commission report and market data suggest that the resale right has no negative impact on the location of the art market or its turnover. They therefore consider it premature to reassess the Directive in 2014 as the Commission plans to do, and proposes that the reassessment be carried out in 2015 (four years after the assessment made in December 2011).

The Commission is invited to:

• reconsider the relevance of applicable rates, the thresholds, and the relevance of categories of beneficiaries as specified in the Directive in its next assessment report,
• work closely with stakeholders to strengthen the European art market’s position and to address problems such as the ‘cascade effect’ and the administrative difficulties faced by smaller and specialist auction houses and dealers;
• continue its efforts in multilateral fora to strengthen the European art market’s position in the world.

Members highlight the importance of giving proactive support to local artists, including the youngest artists.