European Publishers Council

What European Publishers Council does

The European Publishers Council (EPC) is a non-profit industry association founded in 1991 and headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, representing leading European media corporations before EU institutions. Its members include major global media groups such as Axel Springer, News Corp, and Condé Nast, spanning newspaper, magazine, book, journal, internet and online database publishing, as well as radio and TV broadcasting. EPC operates a community-led go-to-market model focused on advocacy and coalition-building, engaging with 16 European Commission departments, six Commission Presidents, over 35 Commissioners, and 30+ Parliamentary committees across 250+ legislative engagements.

EPC generates no commercial revenue; its operations are funded exclusively through membership dues from member media companies. The organization does not develop or sell products or services. Its core deliverables are policy advocacy outputs: position papers, antitrust complaints, coalition letters, and direct engagement with EU policymakers on issues including platform regulation (Digital Markets Act), copyright protection, AI governance, GDPR, press freedom, and advertising market fairness. EPC coordinates coalitions spanning 57+ national media associations and 7 European associations, amplifying collective lobbying impact.

Recent strategic activity has centered on Google-related antitrust actions, with EPC's adtech complaint contributing to a €2.95 billion EU fine (September 2025) and a new complaint filed over AI Overviews (February 2026) prompting an EU Commission investigation. EPC has also expanded into AI policy standard-setting through the SPUR Coalition and cross-sector GDPR advocacy through a 24-association coalition. The organization is led by Chairman Christian Van Thillo and Executive Director Angela Mills Wade, with a small Brussels-based staff of 1-10 employees.

Name

European Publishers Council

Legal name

European Publishers Council

Website

https://epceurope.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

European Publishers Council is a Brussels-based non-profit industry association founded in 1991 that represents leading European media corporations including Axel Springer, News Corp, and Condé Nast, advocating for their interests on EU digital, copyright, and platform regulation policy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: EPC is funded by membership dues from leading European media companies including Axel Springer, News Corp, Condé Nast, and other major publishers and broadcasters. As a non-profit organization, EPC does not generate commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The European Publishers Council is a non-profit industry association that represents Europe's largest media corporations (Chairmen and CEOs) in advocacy before EU institutions. It lobbies on legislation affecting news media, television, radio, digital marketplaces, journals, eLearning, databases, and books, and files competition complaints (notably against Google) on behalf of its member publishers.

Product overview

The European Publishers Council (EPC) is a high-level advocacy and lobbying organization representing leading European media groups, not a product company. It does not offer commercial products or services. The organization provides policy advocacy, research publications, and competition complaint filings on behalf of its member companies (including Axel Springer, News Corp, and Condé Nast) to European legislators on issues affecting journalistically-driven media and publishing companies. Its activities focus on regulatory advocacy rather than commercial product offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• CJEU ruling (Case C-797/23) requiring Meta to compensate Italian publishers for content use
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• European Business Media (EBM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 May 2026Signatory to joint Europe Day statement with European Business Media, European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), European Magazine Media Association (EMMA), European Newspaper Publishers' Association (ENPA), News Media Europe (NME), and World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) reaffirming commitment to democracy, truth, and unity.
• European Tech AlliancemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 March 2026Coalition partner in joint letter to EU Commission urging expedited action on Google DMA investigation. Representing European tech companies, startups, and publishers united on digital platform regulation.
• SPUR CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2025EPC joined the SPUR Coalition as an affiliate member alongside an international community of publishers, media organisations and industry associations committed to developing practical solutions for the relationship between journalism and artificial intelligence. The coalition aims to develop technical standards and operational frameworks that help publishers understand how their content is being used across the AI value chain and facilitate transparent and efficient licensing markets.
• 38 International Creative Sector OrganisationsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2025Coalition partner at Paris AI Action Summit calling for international charter on 'Culture and Innovation' to ensure AI development respects intellectual property rights of creators and publishers.
• 24-Association Industry Coalition for GDPRcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 July 2024EPC joined a coalition of 24 associations from multiple sectors including ACCIS, AMICE, CEDPO, CEMA, CoESS, EACA, EAEP, EFPIA, EGTA, EMMA, ENPA, ESOMAR, ETNO, FEBIS, FEDMA, GESTE, GSMA, Intergraf, La villa numeris, NME, SMEunited, and VDMA to call for reaffirmation of the GDPR's risk-based approach. The coalition stresses the need for a paradigm shift in current interpretation of GDPR.
• European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint signatory to Europe Day statement calling on policymakers to support independent journalism including upholding copyright and related rights and supporting sustainable business models.
• European Magazine Media Association (EMMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing coalition partner in joint statements on Digital Markets Act, press publisher rights, and regulatory advocacy.
• European Newspaper Publishers' Association (ENPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing coalition partner, co-authored joint statements on Google search self-preferencing (November 2020) and Digital Markets Act advocacy.
• News Media Europe (NME)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in joint European media association statements on regulatory matters affecting the industry.
• World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational coalition partner in joint statements on press freedom, democracy, and media sustainability.
• German Startup AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in DMA enforcement advocacy, representing startup ecosystem interests in platform regulation.
• European Magazine Media AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in joint letter calling for DMA enforcement against Google search self-preferencing.
• Broad Coalition of RightsholderscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPC joined a broad coalition of European and global authors, performers, publishers, producers and other rightsholder organisations to express dissatisfaction with published GPAI Code of Practice under the EU AI Act. Coalition represents cultural and creative sectors contributing nearly 7% of EU GDP.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• News Media Europe (NME): Brussels-based trade association representing European news media publishers on EU policy. EPC and NME frequently co-author joint statements and operate as coalition partners on DMA, copyright, and AI issues - making them direct peers with overlapping membership and remit.
• European Newspaper Publishers' Association (ENPA): Brussels-based association representing European newspaper publishers. Long-standing EPC coalition partner (e.g. co-authoring November 2020 Google search self-preferencing statement), operating in the same advocacy niche for print and digital newspaper interests.
• European Magazine Media Association (EMMA): European trade body for magazine media publishers. Regular EPC coalition partner on Digital Markets Act, press publisher rights, and regulatory advocacy - representing overlapping but distinct (magazine vs. multi-format) publisher constituencies.
• World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA): Global (Paris-headquartered) trade association for the world's news publishers. Frequent joint-statement partner with EPC on press freedom, democracy, and media sustainability, and comparable in its advocacy role across multiple policy forums.
• International Federation of Periodical Publishers (FIPP): Global trade body for magazine and periodical publishers. Operates in the same advocacy ecosystem as EPC on copyright, AI, and platform regulation, with overlapping member companies (including Condé Nast) but a more international remit.
• Association of Online Publishers (AOP): UK-based industry body for digital publishers. Closely comparable to EPC in mission (advocating for publisher interests on regulation, ad tech, and AI), though operating primarily in the UK market and engaging with UK and EU policymakers.

Broad incumbents

• European Broadcasting Union (EBU): Geneva-based association of public and private broadcasters across Europe. Like EPC, the EBU advocates on EU media policy, copyright, and platform regulation, but represents broadcast interests rather than publishing - making it a broader-incumbent peer operating in the same Brussels policy arena.

Regional players

• News/Media Alliance: US trade association representing news and magazine publishers (formerly the Newspaper Association of America). Functions as the North American counterpart to EPC, running similar advocacy and AI-licensing initiatives on the other side of the Atlantic.
• Digital Content Next (DCN): US-based trade association for digital content companies. Comparable to EPC in its focus on platform regulation, AI, and content monetization, but operating in the US regulatory environment with different member composition.

Others

• European Federation of Journalists (EFJ): Brussels-based federation representing journalists and press freedom in Europe. A coalition partner of EPC (e.g. joint Europe Day statement), it represents the journalist/editorial side of news media rather than publishing business interests, making it an adjacent rather than directly competing peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/epc_press?lang=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/epceurope

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about European Publishers Council