Newspaper publishers stress crucial importance of copyright to the future development of the press sector in Europe.

Friday, February 01, 2013

ENPA, the association representing publishers of newspapers and news media in Europe, underlined the vital importance of copyright to the

press sector, during a meeting with EU Internal Market Commissioner, Michel Barnier, yesterday.

A delegation of six newspaper publishers from across Europe, led by ENPA President Ivar Rusdal, met with Commissioner Barnier to offer the commitment of the newspaper sector to play an active role in the European Commission’s copyright consultation, “Licenses for Europe” which begins on 4th February. They also urged the European Commission to support a reduction of VAT on digital newspapers, which are currently subject to a standard VAT rate while a zero, super-reduced or reduced VAT rate is provided for printed newspapers.

ENPA President Ivar Rusdal said: "Copyright is needed more than ever in the digital

environment. Publishers rely on EU copyright legislation to continue investing in quality newspaper content and developing new digital offers for readers.

"Newspaper publishers are ready to play an active and constructive role in the "Licenses for

Europe" consultation which begins on 4th February. In the course of this copyright review, there should be no undermining of the current level of protection of publishers’ content by new exceptions to copyright. Licensing can and does provide efficient solutions to tackling any obstacles in the digital market place," added Mr Rusdal. The ENPA delegation comprised: Ivar Rusdal, ENPA President, CEO Jæren Avis AS, Norway; Valdo Lehari Jr., ENPA Vice-President, Publisher & CEO Reutlinger General- Anzeiger, Germany; Carlo Perrone, ENPA Vice-President, President Il Secolo XIX, Italy and Member of Board, Libération, France; Christian Van Thillo, CEO de Persgroep, Belgium/Netherlands; François le Hodey, CEO IPM SA - Société anonyme d’Information et de Productions Multimédia (La Libre Belgique), Belgium; Bernard Marchant, CEO Rossel Group (Le Soir/ La Voix du Nord), Belgium/France; and ENPA Executive Director, Francine Cunningham.

For inquiries contact:

Francine Cunningham, Executive Director
email: francine.cunningham@enpa.be or tel: +32 (0)2 551 01 90

The European Magazine Media Association, is the unique and complete representation of Europe’s magazine media, which is today enjoyed by millions of consumers on various platforms, encompassing both paper and digital formats.

www.magazinemedia.eu

The European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA) is the largest representative body of newspaper publishers across Europe. ENPA advocates for 14 national associations across 14 European countries, and is a principal interlocutor to the EU institutions and a key driver of media policy debates in the European Union.