The Italian Federation of Newspaper Publishers (FIEG) and the trade organizations of newsstand operators (SNAG, SINAGI, FENAGI, UILTUCS, USIAGI, FAG) met with the Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council with responsibility for information and publishing, Alberto Barachini, presenting a shared document with proposals for the safeguard and relaunch of the newspaper sales and distribution network.

According to the parties involved, the Undersecretary listened to the requests of the categories and assured that the Department is working on a measure to support the newsstand supply chain and on other interventions for the publishing sector, subject to financial sustainability. During the meeting, the importance of public contributions supporting the supply chain was reaffirmed, described as instruments that have helped counter the progressive reduction of the distribution network.

The supply chain requested that such measures become structural and permanent and, in the meantime, be renewed and strengthened with the necessary corrections to make them more effective. The document presented describes the press sales network as an essential infrastructure to ensure citizens' access to free and pluralist information.

Among the proposals are the digitalization of sales outlets and distribution processes, support for technological investments, the development of new proximity services, the recognition of press distribution as a service of general interest, and the establishment of a permanent roundtable between the Government and supply chain representatives to define a national plan for the press network.

The President of FIEG, Andrea Riffeser Monti, stated that the newsstand network constitutes the territorial stronghold of information pluralism and represents an essential link in the publishing supply chain, whose protection and modernization serve a general interest of the country.

The representatives of the supply chain also emphasized the need for a national strategy to halt the reduction of newsstands and ensure a widespread presence of the press across the territory.