Discussing her decision, Fran Dubruille said she has “very much enjoyed” her time with EIBF, but added that this was the right moment to move on and concentrate on other projects.

“EIBF represents the longest and most important commitment in my career and I’ve had the huge privilege of working within a community of highly committed booksellers and representatives of booksellers associations. I have learned so much from them and made many lifelong friends that I will definitely stay in touch with. I would particularly like to highlight the extraordinary engagement of EIBF Executive Committee Members over the years, led at various stages by Doris Stockmann, the late John Mc Namee and currently Jean-Luc Treutenaere and Fabian Paagman. It would be unfair not to mention our International colleagues from outside of Europe and the constant support we have got from the US, Russia, Australia, to name but a few.

Whilst I am of course extremely sad to leave all my friends in the bookselling industry, this decision has been energizing. Over the last eighteen months, I have been maturing a couple of personal projects which I now need to dedicate more time to”

Jean-Luc Treutenaere, co-President, commented: “It’s been a great pleasure to work with Françoise all these years. She’s not only a perfect specialist in lobbying, but she has always been very close to her staff, and to the members of EIBF. Good work and good laughs at the same time. I have learned a lot from her and I will miss her, but I know that she will be beginning her new life with energy, plenty of projects. In the next few months, she will complete the handing on of her knowledge to her colleague, Julie Belgrado, and I’m convinced that EIBF will remain a strong organisation willing and able to promote and defend booksellers’ interests.”

Co-President Fabian Paagman added: “Although we regret Francoise’s decision to leave EIBF, we also have the greatest respect for this new chapter she wishes to write in the story of her professional career. Booksellers in Europe and throughout the international community will miss her dearly, but we are very thankful that Francoise will leave while the organisation is in great shape and has a bright future ahead. We look forward to working on a smooth transition of her work with team member Julie Belgrado in the coming months.”

Julie Belgrado added: “Working with Françoise over the past three years has been a real privilege and a very enriching experience. From the very beginning, she has focussed on transmitting her passion for the bookselling sector, for booksellers and for defending their interests. Although I am very happy that she is moving on to new challenges, I am also saddened to see an exceptional Director leaving, a great colleague and most importantly, a friend. Taking over from Françoise and walking in her footsteps will be a challenge, which I am ready to take up. I thank the EIBF co-Presidents for putting their trust in me and Françoise for believing in me since the very first day. I will do my best to bring continuity to EIBF, dedicate my time to its members and serve the booksellers’ interests.”

The European Commission is currently preparing its proposal for the next MFF (multi-annual financial framework), to be published 2nd May.

Ahead of this publication, creative and cultural sectors have joined forces to ask for an increased EU budget for culture. In a joint letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the 70 signatories urge the EU to give a significant and much-needed boost to the EU’s budget dedicated to culture.

The letter with all the signatories can be downloaded in attachment. 

Culture Action Europe has also started a petition calling on member states and the EU to i) ensure that 1% of the budget of each EU policy field is allocated to culture and ii) double the EU budget for culture.

Culture Action Europe is an influential European network of cultural organisations and individuals.

The European & International Booksellers Federation- EIBF – welcomes the decision of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) of 5 December, which unanimously adopted new rules for VAT on e-commerce.

The establishment of a 10.000€ threshold for start-ups and SMEs in yearly cross-border online sale, under which the home country VAT rate will apply, will definitely enable booksellers to offer more (e)books on foreign markets, as this new measure reduces administrative formalities and will ultimately benefit to consumers.

Reducing the number of pieces of evidence to one to identify customers’ location is excellent news for those of the booksellers whose turnover is up to 100.000 € .

EIBF welcomes both decisions, which represent excellent progress in the completion of the Digital Single Market Strategy, as it will facilitate cross-border trade for many SMEs, booksellers included.

in other Member States. EIBF co-President Fabian Paagman commented: “Booksellers have embraced the digital revolution and a growing number of booksellers are providing their customers with an e-book offer, on their home market, and increasingly across borders. The fulfilled commitment of the Commission and the Council to reduce VAT compliance burdens for SME’s and micro SME’s, both within Member States and across borders is a real relief”.

Added co-President Jean-Luc Treutenaere: “Booksellers are keen to sell as many e-books as possible and the establishment of this 10.000€ yearly threshold represents a real step forward for SMEs, as it will enable them to offer a broader range of e(books) to consumers across borders.”

EIBF is looking forward to hearing about further progress in the months to come, especially regarding lower VAT on e-books.

The full press release can be downloaded in attachment. 

The European and International Booksellers Federation – EIBF – notes with great satisfaction that the negotiations held yesterday between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council (trilogue) about the geo-blocking regulation were positive.

The proposal agreed upon yesterday, and tabled by the Estonian Presidency, leaves copyright-protected material, including e-books, out of the scope of the regulation and proposes a review clause of 2 years.

In practice, due to the entry into force and various steps in the process, this means that the review clause will not kick off before the end of 2020 or the spring 2021.

The inclusion of copyright-protected content has been one of the most contentious elements of the proposal, and a source of major concern for the book industry. This is a great day for our organisation as well as for all the other stakeholders of the cultural and creative sector with whom we have worked in close partnership. This second step in the decisional process rewards months of advocacy and confirms that the European Institutions recognize that the e-book market is a nascent one, at least at the present time.

In a market that is still at an early stage of development and whose future is highly unpredictable, booksellers aim to offer their e-books to as many readers as possible. In a context of low cross-border demand and where profitability has yet to be demonstrated, a growing number of booksellers are nevertheless investing in the e-book market.

EIBF co-Presidents Fabian Paagman and Jean-Luc Treutenaere commented: “Booksellers need time to adapt to the nascent and uncertain e-book market and to see some crucial issues sorted out by the European institutions. In a nascent market, the profitability of which still has to be demonstrated, forcing traders to offer e-books across borders at this point in time would, in the end, be detrimental to European consumers: many SMEs could be forced to exit the e-book market and far from opening up the single market to consumers, this would be highly detrimental to cultural diversity and consumer choice in the EU, and only beneficial to major non-European international platforms.”

The text will formally be adopted by the European Parliament and voted by the Council, in the first months of 2018.

The full statement can be downloaded in PDF format in attachment.