A coalition of major European organisations representing hundreds of thousands of authors, performers, journalists, composers, translators, screen directors, visual artists, and other cultural workers has sent a joint letter (2 March 2026) to the European Parliament’s Culture and Education (CULT) Committee. They welcome the Committee’s upcoming own-initiative report on “Cultural and creative sectors in the age of AI”, but urge it to adopt an ambitious position that safeguards human creativity and creators’ rights within the EU’s AI strategy.
Core Concerns
The coalition argues that generative AI systems:
- Use creators’ works and personal data without authorisation, transparency, or remuneration
- Produce outputs that directly compete with human creators
- Dilute or divert creators’ income (e.g., streaming royalties)
- Spread unlabelled AI content, undermining trust in media
- Threaten cultural, artistic, and linguistic diversity
- Contribute to job losses, deskilling, and worsening working conditions
They align their demands with the European Parliament’s recent report on copyright and generative AI (adopted by the Legal Affairs Committee) and call for EU cultural policy to uphold three core principles: Authorisation, Remuneration, and Transparency (“ART”).
Key Demands to the CULT Committee
- Protect Creators’ Rights Over AI Use
2. Ensure Clear Labelling of AI Content
3. Impose Transparency Obligations on Digital Platforms
4. Address Unfair Contracts and Power Imbalances
5. Safeguard Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
6. Make EU Funding Conditional on Fair Treatment
7. Assess Market Harm and Protect Jobs
Who Signed the Letter?
The signatories include major European and international organisations such as:The signatories are CEATL (European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations), ECSA (European Composer and Songwriter Alliance), EFJ (European Federation of Journalists), EGAIR (European Guild for Artificial Intelligence Regulation), EIF (European Illustrators Forum), EWC (European Writers’ Council), FERA (Federation of European Screen Directors), FIA (International Federation of Actors), FIM (International Federation of Musicians), FSE (Federation of Screenwriters in Europe), IAO (International Artist Organisation), IFJ (International Federation of Journalists), UNI MEI – UNI Media, Entertainment and Arts, and UVA (United Voice Artists).