On Thursday 14 September, the European Parliament issued an almost unanimous call for support for the European book industry as a whole. In a report adopted with 513 votes in favour, 11 against and 8 abstentions at the plenary session in Strasbourg, the MEPs list a series of recommendations to the European Commission and the Member States.
Spearheaded by Tomasz Frankowski (EPP, Polish), the text tackles the many challenges affecting “one of the biggest sectors of the culture industry in the EU”. It addresses the need to encourage reading from an early age and to ensure the survival of independent bookshops, the digital and ecological challenges facing the sector, the accessibility of books and the need for translations into all European languages (see EUROPE 13225/25).
The rapporteur also calls for an increase in the Creative Europe budget for 2028-2034 and the inclusion of the book sector in Horizon Europe.
Despite the Commission’s efforts and actions, “several complex issues remain […] and more budgetary resources would be necessary to tackle these issues in full. In the current environment […] it is difficult to imagine from where these resources could be drawn”, said the Commissioner for Values, Věra Jourová.
Report adopted: https://aeur.eu/f/8js (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)