Source: CNA
A total of 18 news agencies from all over Europe are participating in the European Newsroom initiative, which was formally launched on Tuesday in Brussels. The initiative is funded with 1.76 million euros by the European Union and participating agencies were selected after an open call for proposals.
The European Newsroom hosts correspondents of 18 press agencies under the coordination of the Deutsche Presse-Agentur and has set up its home base in the premises of Belga, the Belgian press agency in Brussels, where it has been operating since July 2022.
Next to their regular work for their agency, correspondents jointly produce news digests on European affairs, feeding one another's news wires and dissemination channels, therefore offering a comprehensive, multilingual and pan-European perspective on EU affairs to audiences across the continent, under high professional standards, according to a press release.
The European Newsroom also provides training to participating agencies (on cybersecurity, fact-checking and multimedia), as well as additional side services (agenda of events, common space for joint interviews, accreditation service, etc.).
The initiative recently opened its doors to Ukrinform, the Ukrainian press agency, which will not pay fees to access the services of the European Newsroom
The project was formally launched on Tuesday by Commission vice presidents Vera Jurova and Margaritis Schinas. The European Commission's funding will cover its operating costs until the end of 2023.
The European Newsroom is run by a consortium of 16 news agencies, covering 11 EU Member States as well as four candidate or potential candidate countries, as well as by another two agencies that later joined the project.
The partners are DPA (Germany), AFP (France), Agerpres (Romania), ANSA (Italy), APA (Austria), Belga (Belgium), BTA (Bulgaria), Europapress and EFE (Spain), HINA (Croatia), STA (Slovenia), TASR (Slovakia), ATA (Albania), FENA (Bosnia-Herzegovina), MIA (Republic of North Macedonia), Tanjug (Serbia). Two additional news agencies have joined the project at a later stage, without receiving EU funding: PAP (Poland) and Ukrinform (Ukraine).
