The decision introduces significant amendments to the European Commission’s original proposal, safeguarding the European book sector from the scope of the Late Payment Regulation.
While the European Commission’s initial proposal mandated a maximum delay of 30 days for paying invoices in business-to-business (B2B) transactions with no exceptions, the adopted report acknowledges “the peculiar position of books as slow-moving goods and cultural products and acknowledges that payment terms within the book sector shall be defined by agreement between the concerned parties.”
FEP President Ricardo Franco Levi responded in the press release by stating:: “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.”
Read the full press release from the FEP here.