Press release: FEP meeting with Commissioner Gabriel

On 05 Febraury, FEP met with Commissioner Gabriel to discuss the state of the publishing sector amid the pandemic

The President, Peter Kraus vom Cleff and the Vice-President, Ricardo Franco Levi, of the Federation of European Publishers met today (5 February) with the Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel.

At the agenda of their video conference, the state of the publishing sector amid the pandemic, the national efforts to support the industry and the European Union programmes such as Creative Europe and Horizon Europe.

On Horizon Europe, Peter Kraus vom Cleff said ‘with challenges to retain Europe’s publishing industry’s predominance in the digital world, we welcome the discussions we have with the Commissioner to support research and innovation in the field of books. Much can and must be done in the field of accessibility, rights management or fair digital infrastructures to name just a few. And we can only make this happen if we work together as Europeans’.

FEP delegation also exchanged with the Commissioner on current regulatory issues such as the Digital Services Act and the Digital Market Act as well as the implementation of the copyright in the digital single market Directive, lauding the Commissioner’s support for balanced policies taking into account the objective of reinforcing cultural diversity.

When publishers meet politicians, reading initiatives are always discussed. Ricardo Franco Levi said ‘for publishers, promoting reading comes with the DNA of the sector. I am delighted, as the President of the Italian Publishers Association and Vice-President of FEP, that the Culture Ministers of Italy and Slovenia have proposed a Europe wide enterprise to encourage citizens to read. FEP will be actively at their side and share all its competences in this field’.

FEP delegation also invited Mariya Gabriel to mark her agenda with the dates of the ceremony of the European Union Prize of Literature (EUPL) on 28 September and the Frankfurt Book Fair from 20-24 October, events they hope will allow them to meet the Commissioner in person.