WRITTEN QUESTION E-1930/02 by Françoise Grossetête (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Difference in the price of newspapers.
Date: 2002-07-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, delivery, newspaper, postal service, price disparity, reduced price, sales promotion, selling price

C 192 E/32

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

14.8.2003

(2003/C 192 E/028)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1930/02

by Françoise Grossetête (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Difference in the price of newspapers

(3 July 2002)

It is reasonable that different amounts should be charged for the same newspaper or periodical depending
on whether it is bought in the country of publication or in another Member State, reflecting the difference
in transport costs.

However, some of the prices charged would seem to be higher than is justified by the real
transport costs, particularly in the context of the subscription policies of some periodicals.

level of

Also, some publications offer services only to subscribers residing in the country of origin.

Does the Commission take the view that this may constitute a violation of the rules of the single market?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(6 August 2002)

According to a study commissioned by the Commission a couple of years ago,
variations exists in cross-border subscription prices due to promotional offers for:

in general significant

(cid:1) specific Member States;

(cid:1) specific reader types, such as students, holiday-makers, businesses;

(cid:1) a fixed duration, providing a discount on long-term subscriptions.

As a result, for one title a variety of subscription prices is available in individual markets and a comparison
of subscription prices becomes very difficult. However, a comparison of standard annual subscriptions can
provide an indicator of cross-border pricing for subscription sales.

As in domestic markets, cross-border subscription prices are,
lower than their single copy
equivalents, reflecting the guarantee of a sale. According to the study, titles with low cross-border
subscription sales appear to be charging the same price for an annual subscription across the Community.
Given that the majority of these subscriptions are delivered via postal systems in the country of origin, a
single cost is applied for distribution.

in general,

International titles, and in particular business titles with significant cross-border subscription sales, appear
to be charging different prices per market, reflecting, amongst others:

(cid:1) different distribution costs per market, due to volume discounts and the use of a mixture of

distribution networks:

(cid:1) door-to-door postal service, which provided by either the national postal system or by the
importer (for example, Nouvelles messagenes de la presse Parisienne (NMPP) in France offers a
subscription delivery service);

(cid:1) partial postal service, with copies distributed in bulk to a Member State where they enter the

national postal system;

(cid:1) domestic competition and purchasing power.

Exchange rate fluctuations no longer play a role within the eurozone.

With regard to the issue of limiting subscription services to subscribers resident in the country of origin of
a publication, more detailed information is needed, in particular the reasons why editors apply such a
limitation, before it can be concluded whether Community law is infringed or not.