Germany · de.indymedia · · 2h
Investment obligation for streaming services: EU Commission puts obstacles in Weimer's way
Deutsch (original) · Auto-translated to English
Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer is making people sit up and take notice with proposals that are intended to secure European media diversity and at the same time rein in US tech companies. However, there is a problem with implementation: the EU Commission is now putting obstacles in the way of the planned investment obligation for streaming services.
The Bundestag will have to significantly adapt the proposal from Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer to introduce an investment requirement for streaming services. In onehttps://technical-regulation-information-system.ec.europa.eu/de/notifica...to the federal governmentThe EU Commission assumes that the German approach is less focused on Europe's cultural and linguistic diversity and media pluralism, but rather wants to strengthen Germany economically as a production location. The former is compatible with EU rules, the latter only to a limited extent.
The letter from Brussels is the answer to thatWeimer's bill, which the government decided in May and referred to the Bundestag. The first to report on the statement was thehttps://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien-und-film/medienpolitik/eu-...reported. The German proposal stipulates, among other things, that all larger streaming services aimed at the German market, whether private or public, must invest eight percent of their annual net sales in European audiovisual works. The draft also sets certain sub-quotas for the production of new works and also regulates reversion of rights, which is intended to help independent producers.
Starting point AVMSD
In principle, such investment obligations and other requirements for streaming services can be implemented legally. To one of thehttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/DE/legal-content/summary/audiovisual-media-ser...kind goalsthe EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, last revised in 2018 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32018L180...) ultimately counts on promoting the production of European works and access to these works. For years, providers like Netflix and Amazon have had to ensure that at leasthttps://netzpolitik.org/2020/eu-regelt-quote-von-30-prozent-fuer-europae...Percent of videos in their media libraries from Europeoriginate. This is regulated in the directive itself.
The EU rules on investment obligations are less strict; there is no provision for an EU-wide requirement. However, Article 13 explicitly opens the door for EU countries to introduce their own obligations, even if the covered streaming providers are established in another member state. In addition to the focus on European productions, the requirements must be “proportionate and non-discriminatory”. Other EU countries have managed this balancing act: In France, since 2021, streaming providers have had to invest at least 20 percent of the sales they generate in the country into financing European productions in the French language.
The EU Commission complains that the proposal from Germany does not meet the requirements from Brussels in its current form. Interventions in the freedom to provide services are only justified if they serve a “legitimate public interest, such as cultural and linguistic diversity, and if they are non-discriminatory and proportionate”. A revised draft law must ensure that the planned rules do not disproportionately restrict entrepreneurial freedom and leave media service providers sufficient leeway in organizing their investment and exploitation strategies.
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Streaming is displacing physical media
The market for streaming offers has been growing rapidly for years, and more and morehttps://www.bpb.de/lernen/bewegtbild-und-politik-bildung/563084/der-d...compete with different modelsabout German customers. Have in the previous yearhttps://www.ffa.de/pressemitigungen-detailseite.html?melde=home-vide...Film funding agencySpending on home video and cinema reached a new high of 4.7 billion euros. The strongest segment in the 3.7 billion euro “pure home video market” is paid subscriptions, such as Netflix, Apple or thehttps://www.ww-kurier.de/artikel/174631-streaming-markt-deutschland--hbo...HBO came to Germany this yearoffer. For comparison: physical media such as DVDs or Blu-rays now only bring in 218 million euros annually, and the trend is falling.
In total, the German draft law is likely to cover eleven streaming providers. However, according to the EU Commission, Germany does not differentiate sufficiently between the respective providers. The letter expresses some surprise that the investment obligation “apparently does not extend to the organizers of linear television services”. Germany also needs to improve the exceptions to the investment obligation and should also ensure that the categorization remains “objectively justified and proportionate”.
The EU Commission sees technical errors in determining the amount of the financial obligation. Although Germany would refer to some market studies in the draft, this is not enough: the specific amount of the respective financial obligation must be based on sufficient evidence and market data and must not impose an excessive burden on affected providers.
Work for Parliament
The Commission also criticizes the proposed sub-quotas. The requirements set out in Section 4 determine where the 8 percent of net sales must go. Among other things, at least 80 percent must be invested in European audiovisual works that are produced in German, while at least 70 percent should come from independent film producers. These requirements apply cumulatively.
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However, the Commission notes that the sub-quotas and weighting mechanisms can significantly restrict and influence the editorial and commercial decisions of providers wishing to meet their financial obligation through direct investment. Accordingly, it must be ensured that these requirements remain “necessary” and “proportionate”.
The signal with the fence post is now aimed primarily at the Bundestag and Bundesrat. The draft is still pending in the Bundestag, but the Bundesrat will have one in Julyhttps://dserver.bundestag.de/brd/2026/0324-26B.pdf">Statementdelivered. The state chamber stands behind the government and only criticizes the draft in detail. For example, the Federal Council would like to also recognize the subsidies from the federal states as the manufacturer's own contribution.
Challenging digital laws
The introduction of the investment obligation is likely to take some time. At least there is at least one concrete draft law that institutions such as the Commission or the Federal Council can work on. The public has been waiting for a long time for another project from Weimers, which is intended to strengthen European content providers and at the same time contain overpowering tech companies, often from the USA.
The one promised last yearhttps://netzpolitik.org/2025/digitalsteuer-tech-unternehmen-sollen-blechen/...for large tech companiesHowever, since then it has not gone beyond its announcement. Most recently, the conservative but non-partisan Minister of State for Culture was optimistic in May that a law would be passed before thenhttps://www.zeit.de/digital/2026-05/kulturstaatsmnister-wolfram-weimar-d...by the Bundestagbring to. There isn't even one circulating for ithttps://www.zeit.de/digital/2025-10/digitalgabe-wolfram-weimer-konzept...Key points paper promised in 2025.
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Source: de.indymedia