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More than ever we need European news, we need to bring different perspectives together, because the challenges we face go far beyond a single country, EU Vice President Vera Jourova said at the European Newsroom launch event on Tuesday in Brussels.
The current war launched by Russia against Ukraine, the increase in energy prices or climate change are problems that know no borders and for a complete picture readers need a cross-border dimension, Jourova said, emphasizing the importance of accurate, reliable, fact based information.
The EC Vice-President for Values and Transparency expressed her hope that the enr project will contribute to combating disinformation and announced, in the context, that next week the European Council will discuss a draft law on press freedom, which should allow the EC to provide tools so as to combat the pressures on the mass media - physical threats, abusive processes, political or economic pressures.
It's time to act. No journalist should be spied on because of their profession. The mass-media should not be turned into a means of propaganda, Jourova pointed out.
In turn, Peter Kropsch, CEO of dpa, said that the common resources of the participating European agencies will allow better information to the general public, through a better dissemination of information, a deeper understanding of European news and emphasized the idea of European unity.
The quality of journalism will be improved when each of the 18 news agencies with their national perspective on Europe will use enr in Brussels. Smaller agencies, which otherwise cannot afford their own correspondents in Brussels, will have easier access to the coverage of the most important events. This means that the participating news agencies can benefit from the mutual exchange of information, he added, showing that the different perspectives of the agencies will give the reader an overview of the main topics debated at the European level.
Present at the event, ambassador Iulia Matei emphasized the importance of the enr project, "a real European newsroom in Brussels".
"Romania's participation in this network of European news agencies is important and will allow a better information to the general public, through a better dissemination of information about the European discussion agenda and by explaining the stakes of European topics, so important for Romanians and Romania," the Permanent Representative of Romania to the European Union said.
The media cooperation project, coordinated by the German press agency dpa, is subsidized by the European Commission with 1.76 million euros. The steering committee consists of dpa (Germany), AFP (France), ANSA (Italy), AGERPRES (Romania) and HINA (Croatia). The enr publishes weekly, in English, French and German, summaries of the most important events selected by the participating agencies. Also, once a week a summary is published on a topic that is agreed upon in advance.
The official launch of enr was also attended by the vice-president of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas, responsible for promoting our European way of life, directors of European news agencies, businesspersons and politicians, journalists.
AGERPRES
