News

Today in Strasbourg, MEPs voted to obstruct a crucial EU Copyright Reform from progressing to the final legislative stage, succumbing to an intense lobby of manipulative anti-copyright campaigners, US internet giants and vested interests who benefit from stealing and monetising publishers’ valuable content.

Ardent anti-copyright radicals, US Internet giants and vested interests, that commercially benefit from freeriding on publishers’ valuable content, continue to wage a loud and misleading campaign against a proposed EU copyright reform that is working its way through the EU legislative process. 

Today, Europe’s news and magazine publishers EMMA, ENPA, EPC and NME applaud the European Parliament for making a crucial stand for the future of a free, independent press, for the future of professional journalism, for the future of fact-checked content, for the future of a rich, diverse and open Internet and, ultimately, for the future of a healthy democracy.

EMMA and ENPA have cosigned a statement with a wide industry coalition to raise awareness on the open issues on ePrivacy ahead of the TTE Council meeting taking place on 8th June. 

In the coming weeks, the European Parliament will vote on the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. We would like to draw your attention to a topic that is crucial for all newspapers and magazines, small mid-size and big, but especially local and regional titles across the European Union: the proposed neighbouring right for press publishers, introduced in Article 11 of the Commission’s proposal, as there have been misleading claims that the right would be harmful for smaller publishers.

The European Magazine Media Association (EMMA), the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA), the European Publishers’ Council (EPC) and News Media Europe (NME) welcome the fact that the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Council called for the introduction of an exclusive right for press publishers in EU copyright law today. 

A conference on press freedom took place on the fringes of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia in Bulgaria which gathered journalists, media organisations, publishers, NGOs and members of the European parliament. Participants warned of the waning strength and independence of European media and the consequent threat to democracy. 21 years after the UNESCO Sofia Declaration for a free and pluralistic media, they published the ‘Sofia Declaration’, urging the EU to prioritise media freedom in Europe.

EMMA and ENPA in association with EFJ, RSF, AEJ, ECPMF, SEEMO and the UPB, held a conference on “Media Freedom and Pluralism” on Wednesday, 16 May, in Sofia, in the wings of the EU-Western Balkans summit.

On May 16, 2018 a Press Freedom Conference – organized by the Union of Publishers in Bulgaria (UPB) in association with EMMA/ENPA, European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), in partnership with Reporters Without Borders, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Association of European Journalists (AEJ), South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) – will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria.    

Guaranteeing the legal protection of investment in quality journalism is long overdue.

ENPA, the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association and EMMA, the European magazine Media Association representing thousands of European Press publishers on European level are deeply shocked and saddened by the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his partner Martina Kusnirova and extends condolences to their family friends and colleagues.

EMMA and ENPA has joined more than 50 stakeholders from 19 different European countries from across industry sectors in co-signing an open letter to call for a review of the draft E-privacy regulation to the benefit of consumers, the businesses that serve them and to ensure a vibrant Digital Single Market for Europe and its citizens.

Data economy is a pillar of future growth, job creation and social progress. According to the European Commission, the value of the European data economy may raise from €285 billion in 2015 to €739 billion in 2020. Consumers and citizens will enjoy innovative products and services and, hopefully, benefit from strong guarantees for their rights and privacy. Big Data will also provide governments and authorities with the opportunity to enhance public policies’ design and effectiveness.

Our German member VDZ - Verband Deutscher Zeitschriftenverleger published a press release : “ePrivacy: A loss of more than 30 percent in digital advertising sales for journalistic media.”

The Parliament’s Committee for Civil Liberties has adopted with a weak majority the report of Mrs. Marju Lauristin (Socialist, Estonia) on the draft Regulation on ePrivacy. Despite strong diverging views expressed by the largest political group in the European Parliament, the compromise amendments put forward by the rapporteur seriously put at risk the future viability of many press titles in Europe, due to a very dogmatic approach which has not considered the reality of the European digital market.

The European Committee for Civil Liberties will vote on the report of Mrs. Marju Lauristin (Socialist, Estonia) and the amendments to the draft Regulation on ePrivacy.

Yesterday the Board of the European Magazine Media Association, EMMA, has nominated Xavier Bouckaert, CEO of Roularta Media Group (Belgium), as President of EMMA.

EMMA (European Magazine Media Association) and EDAA (European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance) are organising a Future Media Lounge event, to take place in Brussels on Tuesday, 5 September at the Renaissance Hotel, from 18:00-20:00. The debate “New privacy rules and their impact on funding a free independent Press in Europe?” will be moderated by Karin Massin, CEO of Burson-Marsteller, Belgium.

EMMA jointly with EDAA is running the next Future Media Lounge debate on how the new privacy rules might impact a free and independent press. European Parliament’s Rapporteur MEP Marju Lauristin (S&D / EST), European Commission’s Director Despina Spanou and the CEO of the Belgium Roularta Media Group, Xavier Bouckaert will debate the possible implications of a new e-privacy regulation on the business model of press publishers and therefore the funding of trusted journalism as well as its potential impact on media diversity and access to journalistic content for European citizens.

It is with great concern that EMMA and ENPA learned last week that Polish investigative journalist from the Polish daily newspaper “Gazeta Wyborcza”, Mr     Tomasz Piatek is facing criminal prosecution from the Polish ministry of defence for publishing a book about their Minister and his alleged ties with Russian entities close to the Kremlin. As a result Mr. Piatek is facing a jail sentence of several years simply for accomplishing his work as a journalist and for striving to inform the public about possible questionable behavior.