In a letter to Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the German publishers and booksellers association spoke out against an abolition of uniform prices for books being planned in Greece as a reform to boost competitiveness, saying it would not result in economic benefits but cultural decline instead. Noting that this was contrary to the Greek EU presidency’s program, the letter asks Samaras to re-examine the issue and its possible risks.
“In countries where the system of uniform book prices was abandoned, we saw the average price of books increase. Only a few, high-selling titles are put into the market in high quantities and low prices by supermarkets and other large retail chains. The result of this is a restriction of choices, fewer titles available to readers at attractive prices and the bookshop network decreases. This development is not easily reversed,” said Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels President Heinrich Riethmüller.
Riethmüller said that he shared the concerns of Greek publishers, booksellers and authors that disagree with the proposed measure, which would abolish uniform book prices with the exception of first editions of literature. He notes that the uniform pricing system has been used in Germany for the last 150 years and by law since 2002, since policy makers agreed that books were not simply another commodity but had a special cultural value that was not subject to market laws, in the way of other goods.
(source: ana-mpa)
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