What is the EPC?

The European Publishers Council is a high level group of Chairmen and CEOs of European media corporations actively involved in multimedia markets spanning newspaper, magazine and online database publishers. Many EPC members also have significant interests in commercial television and radio.

The EPC is not a trade association, but a high level group of the most senior representatives of newspaper and magazine publishers in Europe. The EPC was founded in January 1991 with the express purpose of reviewing the impact of proposed European legislation on the press, and then expressing an agreed opinion to the initiators of the legislation, politicians and opinion-formers.

Publishers want an integrated information industry

The success of an integrated information industry is vital to the future viability of Europe's publishers. Publishers are in the information business and are major providers of  the ìcontentî of Europe's information highways. Publishers are key to the EU's growth and competitiveness as the integrated information industry becomes the largest single economic sector in Europe by the end of the century.  The EPC seeks a coherent approach to legislation for the information industry.  Publishers must not be prevented by outdated or restrictive legislation from safeguarding their future prosperity and viability.

Protecting a Free Press in Europe

The EPC is pledged to do everything it can to promote the concept and operation of the Internal Market, which it believes is fully in the interests of Europe's citizens. In February 1991 the EPC adopted a set of Principles and in January 1992 it adopted a Declaration, which can be summarized as follows:

• A written press, free and independent of government, is a fundamental institution in political democracies, performing a vital role in providing electorates with information
• Advertising performs a vital role in providing consumers with information about goods and services and guarantees competition in a free market economy
• Freedom of expression is secured by plurality, and advertising revenue is essential to maintaining plurality. Unreasonable and poorly-justified restrictions on advertising directly affect the freedom of the press and violate Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights
• Editorial and advertising content should be monitored in the Member States by effective methods of self-regulation and we support readers' rights to redress for publication of wrong or misleading information.

The history of the EPC

In 1991 the Chief Executives or Chairmen of 12 European print publishing companies met in Amsterdam to address their growing concerns about legislation emanating from the European Commission in Brussels. They founded the European Publishers' Council as a senior group to consult and act on matters of importance to the media.

By 2001 the group had grown to 27 top executives of major media groups which now represented not only the Press, Newspapers and Magazines but TV, Cable, Satellite, Radio and Online publishing in a Europe transformed by the progress of the European Union itself and by the exponential development of global communications.