On Monday 4 April, a delegation of members from the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) had the honour of meeting the President of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, and discussing with him the future and sustainability of bookselling within the Digital single Market.
The EIBF delegation, composed of the EIBF Co-Presidents, Fabian Paagman and Jean-Luc Treutenaere, the CEO of the Booksellers Association of the UK & Ireland, Tim Godfray, Fernand Ernster, former President of the Fédération luxembourgeoise des libraires and the Director of the EIBF, Françoise Dubruille highlighted that booksellers have welcomed many of the Commission’s recent initiatives, especially those related to the Digital Single Market and fairer competition.
Said Co-Presidents Fabian Paagman and Jean-Luc Treutenaere: “it is heartwarming to hear that the President of the European Commission, like the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz – whom we met last year – are both strong supporters of the book sector, and both understand the value that the book community and booksellers in particular bring to society.”
The delegation was delighted that President Juncker supports copyright and understands that free e-lending by public libraries could harm physical bookshops and libraries. Tim Godfray heard with pleasure that President Juncker would encourage his fellow Commissioner in charge of competition not only to look at the e-book market but also at the physical book sector in the complaint lodged by the B.A. of the UK & Ireland against Amazon. EIBF also welcomed the news that the issue of reduced VAT on e-books was progressing positively and that President Juncker himself had always considered that paper and e-books should carry similar VAT rates. As a book lover and a literature enthusiast, Mr Juncker expressed his support to the bookselling trade and to the role that booksellers play in providing the public with unbiased, reliable and informed advice and promoting literacy and reading – the fundamental basis of a knowledge society.
To conclude this unprecedented meeting, the EIBF delegation thanked Mr. Juncker by offering him books in three different languages; a gesture that expressed their gratitude and the cultural diversity that they stand for.