The concession for the distribution of newspapers and magazines, worth 125 million euros in government support, has so far been held by bpost. The contract must be renewed from 2024, but the Federal Public Service Economy designated the quotes from competitors PPP and Proximy as winners, a heavy blow for the public company. The federal government reportedly agreed last week not to award the contract, but there is no consensus yet on what to do with the 125 million euros in subsidies. At 12 noon the core cabinet will meet again.
Green Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter is already advocating for “targeted project support” to be given to companies that deliver newspapers and magazines in sparsely populated areas, to avoid subscribers in difficult-to-reach zones in rural areas having to pay more than customers in the city.
In concrete terms, this concerns the so-called ‘white zones’ where delivery would be proportionately much more expensive. In Flanders, this includes the Meetjesland, the Westhoek, the Kempen or the Pajottenland, “places where people live further apart and do not have a newsagent next door,” says De Sutter.
According to the Green politician, newspapers and magazines are important for the democratic debate. “I don’t want people to turn their backs on our written media – with more in-depth interpretation – because it becomes more expensive to get them home,” she says.
2023-12-06 04:17:15
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