06.09.2022 – 22:19

European news agencies reinforce Brussels reporting with the launch of the European newsroom

The European Newsroom (enr), a joint project of 18 European news agencies, was launched in Brussels today. The aim of the initiative is to reinforce reporting from the heart of Europe, as well as fostering cooperation between international agency correspondents. The European Newsroom provides shared workspaces, technical infrastructure and an extensive programme of training and events. In the presence of Commission Vice-Presidents Vera Jourova and Margaritis Schinas, as well as around 200 guests from politics, business and the media, the initiators stressed the importance of international cooperation in the media sector and common efforts to fight disinformation.

“The correspondents of the European news agencies require optimal working conditions in the political heart of the continent,” said Peter Kropsch, CEO of dpa. “In Brussels, regulations are initiated that directly affect many millions of people. Not only in the EU member states, but also in the candidate countries. It is therefore essential to secure and expand independent and reliable reporting from Brussels and to provide information that can counter disinformation among EU citizens. That is what the European Newsroom is all about."

The European Newsroom (enr) has two locations in Brussels, with premises in the Residence Palace and at theBelga news agency. An overall 45 desks are available for correspondents of the participating agencies. The European Newsroom has been operational since July 1, 2022. Two on-site employees coordinate the activities of the enr. The agencies dpa (Germany), AFP (France), ANSA (Italy), AGERPRES (Romania) and HINA (Croatia) form the core group and the steering committee of the project. The European Newsroom is supported by the EU.

The initiators of the enr stress that the entire coverage from and about the EU will benefit from the diversity of perspectives represented by the European Newsroom. "When 18 European news agencies, each with their own national perspective on Europe, use a common newsroom, journalistic quality increases," says Peter Kropsch. "Big and small news agencies exchange ideas, learn from one another, but each continues to report under its own brand – that is the idea of this newsroom,” Kropsch adds.

The comprehensive EU reporting by the participating agencies will continue to run exclusively in their respective national wire services. Select content, such as brief excerpts from agency news reports, is published with a time delay on the European Newsroom website. This also includes dossiers from the contributions of the participating agencies. Important subjects such as rising gas prices, the global food crisis or the consequences of climate change, are examined from different national perspectives.

The steering committee welcomes Ukrinform in the enr project, to support the Ukrainian agency in ensuring its comprehensive reporting and integration in Brussels, in the framework of a Solidarity Partnership. Ukrinform is able to use all aspects of the European Newsroom free of charge. Poland’s PAP is taking on the status of Associate Partner. The group of enr partners is being joined, initially as Observer Agencies, by ANP (Netherlands), Keystone-SDA (Switzerland) and LUSA (Portugal).

All 18 participating news agencies:

AFP (France), Steering committee

ANSA (Italy), Steering committee

AGERPRES (Romania), Steering committee

APA (Austria)

ATA (Albania)

Belga (Belgium)

BTA (Bulgaria)

dpa (Germany), Steering committee

EFE (Spain)

Europa Press (Spain)

FENA (Bosnia and Herzegovina)