"Most of these agencies will meet in a common place where they will be able to discuss all European subjects, together request interviews and publish on a dedicated site some of these productions," said AFP, which is participating in the project. .
"Participants will also be able to benefit from training, in particular on digital and fact-checking," AFP added.
The German news agency DPA is leading the project, which will launch in January 2022 and become operational in the first half of the year.
It will benefit from a subsidy of 1.76 million euros over two years (2022-2023), the Commission said.
Besides DPA and AFP, the participants are ANSA (Italy), Agerpres (Romania), APA (Austria), ATA (Albania), Belga (Belgium), BTA (Bulgaria), EFE and Europapress (Spain), FENA (Bosnia ), HINA (Croatia), MIA (North Macedonia), STA (Slovenia), Tanjug (Serbia) and TASR (Slovakia).
The project concerns the production of information in 15 languages.
"With this new step, we are strengthening Europe's information space and increasing citizens' access to quality information," assured Commissioner Thierry Breton (internal market and services), announcing this initiative.
"By working together across borders, the media are stronger," Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova, responsible for values and transparency, also said during a forum on European media.
Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourova, in charge of values and transparency, in Brussels, September 16, 2021 François WALSCHAERTS AFP / Archives
“We have seen the incredible results of cross-border investigations, like the recent Pandora Papers (published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, on the opacity of offshore companies). I also believe that these networks and solidarity make it more difficult 'state interference,' she added.
The Commission will present in 2022 a law to protect the independence of the media in order to "guarantee the pluralism, integrity and independence of the European media market against all types of unjustified interference".
"These threats can take various forms, such as government interference, politicization of public media or a high concentration of media capital in the hands of a handful of owners," said Thierry Breton.
These concentrations can pose problems of editorial independence "especially when the owners or the members of the board of directors are active in several sectors", he warned.
"How could a journalist freely investigate a case in which his owner has special interests? How can a plurality of points of view be ensured if journalists are cautioned, or dismissed, in the name of synergies?" is he questioned.
"It is the independence and pluralism of our media that are at stake, as well as the quality of public debate and public accountability," he concluded.
© 2021 AFP