Commission announces European Newsroom project at the European News Media Forum | EU Commission Press

Today, the Commission is holding its second edition of the European News Media Forum to discuss the transformation of the media industry. In this context, the Commission announced it would support the development of a “European Newsroom” bringing together 16 news agencies. Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, said: “By working together across borders, media are stronger. We have seen the incredible results of cross-border investigations, such as the recent Pandora papers. The Commission is increasing its support for this type of collaboration, with the European Newsroom today and a series of new journalism partnerships by the end of the year.” Vice-President Jourová will participate in the closing session at 17:50 (her speech will be webstreamed and published here). Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, who opened the forum this morning, said: “We are organising Europe’s information space and increasing citizens’ access to quality information. This first-ever pan-European newsroom – which we announce today – will allow journalists to report jointly on EU affairs and promote a spirit of collaboration back at home. Next year, we will present a Media Freedom Act to boost media pluralism and improve the resilience of the sector as a whole.” The first edition of the European News Media Forum was held in March 2021. It helped prepare the Commission’s first-ever recommendation to Member States on the safety of journalists. This second edition brings together stakeholders from the news media sector to discuss revenue streams, business models, community engagement, diversity, media convergence, new formats and partnerships. The Forum is part of a broader effort to support the recovery and transformation of the media and audiovisual sectors, as announced in the Media and Audiovisual Action Plan. This includes increased EU funding for media projects, such as the European Newsroom announced today, following a €1.76 million open call for proposals. This initiative will create a hub for news correspondents to work together on EU affairs. The project will start operating in January. Information on this and other calls related to the media sector is also available.