Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

The European Commission in Brussels, under EU state aid rules, has approved a €120 million Italian scheme to support publishers of newspapers and periodicals.
According to a European statement, the scheme aims to ensure the availability of newspapers and periodicals in Italy and to protect the quality of the Italian language in print publications. Under this scheme, newspaper and periodical publishers are entitled to tax credits covering up to 30% of the paper costs incurred in 2021 and 2022.
The measure will apply for the 2022 and 2023 financial years. The statement said, "The Commission has assessed the scheme under EU rules regarding state assistance, in particular Article 107(3)(c) of the EU Action Treaty, which enables member states to support the development of certain activities. or economic fields.
The Commission found that this measure is necessary and appropriate to achieve the desired goals, which are the development of the news media sector, access to newspapers and periodicals on a large scale, and the promotion of media pluralism.
The Commission concluded that the measure is proportionate, i.e. limited to the minimum necessary, and will have a limited impact on competition and trade among member states.
On this basis, the Commission approved the scheme under EU state aid rules.