Good News for Publishers: Late Payment Regulation Amendment for Book Sector

The European Parliament has recently adopted an amendment that calls for the exclusion of the book sector from the scope of the Late Payment Regulation. This amendment was passed by a large majority today, making publishing the only sector explicitly excluded in this way.

The adopted report contains crucial amendments to the European Commission’s original proposal that exclude the book sector from the scope of the Late Payment Regulation, recognising its unique structure and the essential need for flexible payment terms to ensure a rich and diverse literary landscape across Europe.

As a member of the Federation of European Publishers (FEP), Publishing Ireland lobbied our own MEP to vote in favour of this amendment. All other member countries also urged their MEPs to support the amendment.

Ricardo Franco Levi, President of FEP, declared “On World Book Day, the European Parliament made a very important decision, towards ensuring that Europe maintains a rich and diverse literary landscape, where independent booksellers and publishers can thrive. We call on Member States to uphold this vital result during the trilogue negotiations. In the meantime, I would like to thank all MEPs who supported us, all our colleagues from the national PAs, as well as the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) and the European Writers’ Council (EWC), who joined forces with FEP and helped us voice how important this matter is for our sector.”