Press releases
On Friday and Saturday protests against press freedom restrictions resumed in Poland after the ruling Law & Justice (PiS) party pushed through regulations that would limit journalists’ access to the Parliament building as from 1 January. The protests that followed saw opposition MPs block access to the main parliamentary chamber and the forced removal of demonstrators who blocked the building's exits by police.
Press releases
The proposal by the European Commission to include publishers as rights holders under the EU copyright framework is an historically important step and the necessary precondition for guaranteeing media pluralism as an essential basis for freedom of opinion and democracy in the digital world. Today, European newspaper and magazine publishers are reaching more consumers than ever before, but in spite of investing heavily in adapting their businesses to the realities of the digital environment, publishers still don't have an adequate way to protect their investments.
Press releases
Today, Sweden celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Swedish Press Act. The act, which was the world's first legislation on freedom of expression and freedom of information and constitutes a vital part of Swedish democratic society, states that all citizens have the right to freely seek information. The European Magazine Media Association recognises the importance of this legislation, and joins in celebrating freedom of expression, transparency and media in Sweden and across Europe.
Press releases
The European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA) and the European Magazine Media Association (EMMA) jointly welcome the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive as regards rates of value added tax applied to books, newspapers and periodicals that endorses the possibility for all Member States to choose to apply zero, super reduced, or reduced VAT rates, which are currently applicable to printed newspapers and magazines, to the digital environment.
Press releases
Last week on 16 November, the Future Media Lab. hosted its 7th Future Media Lounge session in the European Parliament, this time focusing on the review of the Audiovisual Services Media Directive, which is currently under discussion in the European Parliament, and the impact this could have on Europe's press publishers.
Press releases
With media independence a hot topic across Europe and around the world, European publishers today called on the Juncker Commission to ensure that future “ePrivacy” rules do not needlessly deprive them of a critical revenue stream as they manage the difficult transitional to digital. The publishers are concerned that the current review of the ePrivacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC, also known as the ‘Cookie Directive’), may lead to new constraints on low-risk data processing for advertising purposes, including rules that would in effect force them to provide content for free. Over 90 European publishers, brought together by 26 European national Interactive Advertising Bureaus (IABs), IAB Europe and leading European publisher associations EPC (European Publishers Council), NME (News Media Europe), EMMA (European Magazine Media Association) and ENPA (European Newspaper Publishers’ Association), co-signed a letter to Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip and Commissioner Günther Oettinger highlighting their concerns.
