16 news agencies are planning a European newsroom in Brussels with the support of the EU Commission. Operations are scheduled to begin in the middle of next year.
Brussels – The EU Commission is funding the construction of a European newsroom planned by 16 news agencies in Brussels with almost 1.8 million euros.
“This first pan-European newsroom will enable journalists to report together on EU affairs and promote the spirit of cooperation at home,” said EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton on Monday at the European News Media Forum in Brussels. “We believe that with this new step we will strengthen the European information space and increase citizens’ access to high-quality information.”
Diversity of perspectives
According to the Commission, the funding will, among other things, finance further training opportunities in the newsroom and a new multilingual website with selected texts from news agencies on EU issues. The project is coordinated by the German Press Agency (dpa). The French AFP, the Italian ANSA, the Belgian Belga, the Austrian APA and the Spanish agencies EFE and Europa Press are also involved. Agencies such as the Albanian ATA or the Serbian Tanjug participate from non-EU countries.
The chairman of the dpa management, Peter Kropsch, said: “When 16 news agencies from 15 countries, each with their national perspective on Europe, use a common newsroom in Brussels, everyone benefits from the variety of perspectives. Thanks to this networking, the journalistic quality increases. ”In addition, there are training courses, events and, above all, the infrastructure of the European Newsroom (ENR) with technology and news feeds. “With the ENR concept, it is particularly important to us that all partners commit to free, independent journalism,” said Kropsch.
Implementation of the project will start in January. The operational operation of the newsroom should then start around the middle of next year. dpa
