Press releases
Following the announcement made by Mrs Monika Grütters, the German Culture Minister, and Mrs Aurélie Filippetti, the French Culture Minister, on 19th February 2014, press publishers in Europe join this call to the Member States and to the EU institutions to take immediate action allowing the reduction of VAT rates on digital press.
This important statement from France and Germany is a clear and decisive political signal for an urgent change, in order to align the VAT rates (including zero, super reduced or reduced VAT rates) which currently apply for the printed press to digital press products and services. This would encourage a pluralistic, independent and vibrant press sector in Europe.
This need for change has been strongly voiced by ENPA and EMMA members, following the decision of the French government to apply a 2.1% VAT rate for digital press in France. Press publishers in Europe call on national governments and the EU to apply appropriate conditions regarding VAT and adapt the VAT legislation in order to provide a sustainable future for digital business models in the press sector. This is a major step that the European Commission should take before the end of the current mandate in order to fulfil the objectives of the EU Digital Agenda.
In France, a law aimed at aligning the VAT rate which currently applies for the printed press to digital press, has been recently approved by the Assemblée Nationale with an immediate application from 1st February 2014. In Germany, in a previous public statement and referring to the coalition agreement, the Culture Minister, Mrs Monika Grütters already called on the European Union to place the reduction of VAT rates for digital press on the EU agenda as soon as possible.
For more information on the announcement of the French and German Culture Ministers:
ENPA is an international non-profit organisation representing publishers of newspapers and news media on all platforms. ENPA represents over 5,200 national, regional and local newspaper titles, published in many EU Member States, plus Norway, Switzerland and Serbia. For more information: www.enpa.be
EMMA, 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. EMMA represents 15.000 publishing houses, publishing 50.000 magazine titles across Europe in print and digital. For more information, visit www.magazinemedia.eu
For further information:
Sophie Scrive
Deputy Executive Director, ENPA
Square du Bastion 1A
B-1050, Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 551 0190
sophie.scrive@enpa.be
Amandine Labé
European Affairs Manager, EMMA
Square du Bastion 1A
B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 536 06 08
amandine.labe@magazinemedia.eu
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.
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.
