Strasbourg, 17/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption, on Thursday in Strasbourg, of a report by Willi Rothley (SPD), the European Parliament calls on the European Commission to submit a proposal of directive to it on the compulsory price system for books, in order to improve the production and distribution of literary works without eliminating competition. The Parliament suggests that the Commission should take inspiration from recommendations, attached to the report, which, it says, are conform to the principle of subsidiarity and to the fundamental rights of citizens. In these recommendations, the Parliament mainly proposes that any Member State should have the right to legally establish on its territory a compulsory price system for books, maintain it or authorise it on the basis of contractual agreements. The compulsory price system could provide for: - either the possibility for the publisher to fix the final price of books and the obligation for final retailers to respect this price in compliance with contractual provisions; - or the obligation imposed on the publisher, pursuant to a law or regulation, to fix the final price of books or of certain categories of books, as well as the obligation for final retailers to keep to the final price fixed for the publisher. The choice of system would be left to the discretion of the Member State. Furthermore, cross-border sales of books to final buyers or sellers could be subject to imposed pricing, if they aim or result in circumventing the national pricing system.