The Commission has launched its first ever consultation devoted to Small and Medium Enterprises in the publishing sector: books, newspapers, and magazines.

Publishing now provides nearly 700 000 jobs, in around 80 000 companies across today’s 27 Member States, most of them SMEs.

The consultation will map out how publishing SMEs are responding to the evolving business environment and the changes brought about by new technologies. The results will help to better understand the difficulties publishing SMEs face and identify ways action at national and EU level can strengthen the sector during difficult economic times.