The European Commission has delayed a decision on whether to reform a tax on gadgets such as MP3 players that can reproduce copyright material, the European Union executive, quoted by a Reuters report, said.
'The Commission has decided more reflection is required on this complex issue. When it is ready, it will bring it on the agenda of the Commission,' spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansenwas quoted as saying.
She said the Commission's delay was not influenced by a letter from French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin expressing concerns about any scrapping of the levy, the Reuters report said.
EU internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy was due to publish a recommendation on how the EU should enforce a 2001 copyright directive more stringently, the report added.
The directive contains a clause that allows governments to scrap or phase out the tax on products which range from digital music players to copiers and scanners, the report said.
Industry sources said McCreevy's plans had been overruled by Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso after the letter from Villepin.
The Reuters report further said the Copyright Levies Reform Alliance, which represents the electronics industry, said it would hold a news conference later 'on President Barroso's decision to withdraw imminent Commission recommendation to reform copyright levies.'
