FAEP, Boulevard de Waterloo 36, 1000 Bruxelles
XXX MEP European Parliament Rue Wiertz B-1047 Brussels Brussels, 28 August 2007
Subject:
Amendments for Chris Davies‟ Report on the Community Strategy to reduce CO² emission from passenger cars and light-commercial vehicles
Dear MEP XX, The European Federation of Magazine Publishers (FAEP) wishes to raise our concerns with you on the draft Report currently under discussion in the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety on the “Community Strategy to reduce CO² emission from passenger cars and light-commercial vehicles” (2007/2119 (INI) ). As the Environment and Health Committee will adopt some of the amendments tabled at its next meeting at September 11th / 12th, we would like to draw your attention to two amendments that refer to the two advertising related paragraphs in Chris Davies‟ report: 23 and 24. In order to maintain freedom of advertising based on a self-regulatory system across Europe, please support the following amendments: Amendment 180 / Amendment by Martin Callanan Paragraph 23 23. Recommends that mandatory minimum requirements be considered for the display of information relating to the fuel economy and CO2 emissions of new cars in the review of the labelling directive; Amendment 185 / Amendment by Christofer Fjellner Paragraph 24 deleted
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For two reasons publishers are concerned about how the draft Report of Chris Davies proposes that mandatory minimum requirements should be set for labelling and advertising, concerning CO2 emissions and fuel economy. (1) It is one of the fundamental values of the European Union to protect freedom of expression. This freedom applies for editorial speech as much as for commercial speech. By introducing statutory advertising requirements, as proposed in the Chris Davies Report, the fundamental right of freedom of expression is infringed. The producer of legally offered products in the EU market should be able to pronounce publicly about its products without any other restrictions other than those enshrined in existing national and/or European law and self-regulatory codes. (2) At a time of great uncertainty for „traditional‟ media and with advertising spending being shared more and more thinly across the different media, old and new, publishers oppose any political measure that has the potential to imbalance the advertising revenues of the press as this has a severe impact on the independence and diversity of the press, so fundamental for a democratic society. Statutory advertising requirements with an anti-promotional effect in print media (such as being obliged to devote space to non-promotional text) might lead to less advertising for print in total. Apart from such advertising moving from print to broadcast, radio, outdoor, internet etc, the direct link between editorial pages and advertising pages in a newspaper and magazine indicates that the diversity of the press (quantity) and the independence (quality) can only be guaranteed on a free advertising market. Therefore FAEP questions the approach of the draft Report in practical terms. As you know, newspapers and magazines contain car advertisements every day, ranging from the major brands‟ portrayal of their latest models to small classified adverts from small local dealers advertising their range of new and used cars. Advertising is the life-blood of the printed press. Revenues gleaned from advertising – not copy sales - allow for an independent and vibrant press in Europe. Car advertising represents up to 20% of total advertising revenues for print publishers. At a time when advertising spend is fragmenting across the old and new media, the printed press seems to face a never-ending stream of new advertising restrictions and/or requirements which only serve to squeeze the ability of the press to provide quality, trusted content catering for a broad spectrum of interests. Policy makers should rather be encouraging measures which allow for the maintenance of a strong press sector in Europe. We ask the Parliament to consider in any case that the consumer‟s decision to make a purchase depends considerably more than just the sight of a single advert. According to the labelling Directive car manufacturers are already obliged to provide information on the fuel consumption and C02 emissions in advertising for new cars, which we consider to be already an adequate means of informing potential buyers of the
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environmental impact of the car they are considering to buy. On this basis, consumers are well-placed to further inform themselves – if they so wish – about the environmental features of the car. Further advertising restrictions or requirements could impact on the willingness of car manufacturers to choose press publications (online or offline) for their brand promotions. The printed press in Europe is embracing the challenges presented by the digital revolution. Business models are developing, but advertising will remain the key ingredient for safeguarding an independent, thriving print media. We would be happy, if you could take our concerns into consideration while voting on the amendements on September 11th / 12th in the Environment and Health Committee. Please do not hesitate to get in touch for any questions you might have regarding the press concerns and the Chris Davies report on CO2 emissions of cars. Yours sincerely,
Max von Abendroth Director of Communications and Sustainability FAEP
FAEP is a federation representing over 15.000 publishers producing over 50.000 magazine titles in Europe. Twenty billion magazines are read each year on a regular, consistent basis by over 80% of the EU adult population. The sector is worth forty billion Euro, half of which is gleaned from advertising. Periodical publishers directly employ over 200.000 citizens, with a multiple of that figure employed in the related advertising, graphic, print and paper manufacturing industries. More information: www.faep.org
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