The Netflix company logo | Ryan Anson/AFP/Getty Images Coming soon: Netflix on holidays A proposed Commission regulation obtained by POLITICO would allow consumers to take streaming subscriptions with them.

You may soon be able to take your music, film and TV streaming subscriptions with you wherever you go in the EU, if the European Commission gets its way.

If the Commission's proposal is implemented, consumers with subscriptions to German Netflix, for example, could watch films while temporarily working in Brussels, while Brits with a subscription to watch the English Premier League could take in matches while on holiday in Spain.

The Commission will put forward legislation Wednesday allowing consumers with subscriptions for online music, games, films and TV shows to access that content while traveling within the EU. Currently, media companies are allowed to block viewers from accessing on-demand content across European borders.

Given the fact EU residents took more than one billion overnight trips within the bloc in 2013, according to the most recent data, the proposed laws would have a significant impact on consumers.

“It’s a very good proposal for portability, we are quite satisfied,” said Agustín Reyna, senior legal officer at consumer advocacy group BEUC.

But not everyone agrees.

Lobbyists in the creative industries believe if a leaked draft of the proposal is implemented, it could create significant uncertainty in their industries and lead to repercussions for contract negotiations over content.

"We do not support this legislation," said Charlotte Lund Thomsen, a legal expert working for the International Federation of Film Producers and Associations and the International Video Federation. "We have always said the market should drive solutions."

In particular, lobbyists have taken issue with what they see as a lack of detail in the proposed regulation.

In a leaked two-page draft of the proposed regulation obtained by POLITICO, the Commission does not specify the length of time that would constitute a temporary presence in another country.

This could mean content providers will have to negotiate a reasonable period for consumers to access their subscription services abroad. Or it could mean any length of absence is acceptable. Consumer groups favor the latter definition.

"The regulation is clear, temporary means not permanent," BEUC's Reyna said. "If a person has a residence in another member state, that's enough for portability to apply. Which means if you're traveling for 15 days, you should benefit. And if you're working temporarily in a different member state, you should also benefit, as long as you have your regular residence in another member state."

Industry lobbyists aren't happy.

“Unless the definitions are specific, there will be unintended damage on the ability to produce the very films and programs consumers want to see,” said Jean Prewitt, president and chief executive of the U.S.-based Independent Film and Television Alliance.

In a relatively rare step (assuming the draft is implemented as is) clauses in contracts between distributors and copyright owners that prohibit or limit cross-border access would be “unenforceable” retroactively, meaning contracts signed before the regulation is in force will be affected.

The Commission wants consumers to be able to travel and access content they’ve purchased in their home countries, after a six-month implementation period for the regulation.

That has industry representatives up in arms.

"When you change the conditions by which we can sell rights, then you change the result," said Mathieu Moreuil, head of European public policy for the English Premier League. "We negotiate our contracts with broadcasters on the basis of exclusive rights. If you say there isn't full exclusivity, then those negotiations are affected."

Some industry insiders warn the regulation could be in contravention of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, a treaty administered by the World Trade Organization, which sets minimum standards for signatories.

The Commission's regulation will also apply to free services, such as YouTube or Spotify's standard offering, if the provider can verify the country of residence of its subscribers.

Have IP access, will travel

Ways of verifying the country of residence include checking the IP address, phone number, Internet contracts, or customer payment details.

On this, too, industry is skeptical, concerned that the regulation could be used by consumers to shop around for the cheapest prices in the EU, bypassing geo-blocking. Charging different prices for different countries, they say, allows them to provide products cheaper in countries where income is lower, such as Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania, subsidizing this from higher-income countries such as Denmark, the U.K. and the Netherlands.

“Our concern is that if not drafted in a tight enough way it would actually enable cross-border access through the back door,” said Cécile Despringre, executive director of the Society of Audiovisual Authors.

This will increase prices in those countries where consumers can least afford it, critics say.

"Having the same price throughout the EU means people in Slovenia, Greece, the Czech Republic will have to pay more for films than they do now. If you start charging them at Swedish prices, then all you will get is more piracy," said Rob Atkinson, the president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

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