WRITTEN QUESTION No. 738/98 by Irene SOLTWEDEL-SCHÄFER to the Commission. Consequences of the initiation of an investigation into book price maintenance in Germany and Austria
Date: 1998-03-18
Institutions: European Parliament, SOLTWEDEL-SCHAEFER
Subjects: Greece, Structural Funds, cultural heritage, financing, location of industry, protection of animal life, protection of plant life













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91998E0738

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 738/98 by Irene SOLTWEDEL-SCHÄFER to the Commission. Consequences of the initiation of an investigation into book price maintenance in Germany and Austria  


Official Journal C 402 , 22/12/1998 P. 0026 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0738/98by Irene Soltwedel-Schäfer (V) to the Commission(18 March 1998)Subject: Consequences of the initiation of an investigation into book price maintenance in Germany and AustriaOn Wednesday, 14 January 1998 the Commission launched an investigation into book price maintenance in Germany and Austria.1. What consequences does the Commission expect the abolition of book price maintenance in Germany and Austria to have on diversity and distribution?2. On what reports or studies is the information given in reply to the first question based?Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission(7 May 1998)1. The Commission has instituted formal proceedings regarding the German/Austrian price-fixing scheme for books because the complete exclusion of price competition between booksellers in respect of any particular book constitutes a restriction of competition. The restriction can only be authorised if the publishers seeking the authorisation can adduce evidence that all of the conditions laid down in Article 85(3) of the Treaty have been met. However, this has not yet been done.A comparison between Member States where there is retail price maintenance for books and those where it has been abolished or has never existed does not provide conclusive evidence. There are Member States with no retail price maintenance for books and approximately the same population where significantly more titles are published than in Member States with price maintenance. In countries such as Sweden where book retail price maintenance has been abolished, the number of titles has generally risen rather than fallen.It is in fact very difficult to prove whether book retail price maintenance is liable to favour certain forms of distribution, for example the general tendency towards chains of bookshops and major distributors. In France, for example, where there is book retail price maintenance, supermarkets already hold a market share of 25 % while independent bookshops hold only 33 % (they still held 50 % in 1980). In the United Kingdom the four big chains held 50 % of the market even before the abolition of book retail price maintenance. In Austria the Libro chain has been able in a few years to develop its network to over 220 branches at the expense of small independent bookshops despite the existence of book retail price maintenance.2. In arriving at its provisional assessment in its statement of objections, the Commission drew on many analyses and factual sources - publicly accessible statistics, studies presented by the parties to the proceedings and also existing studies available to it.