Editorial Mission

" Faciliter efficacité et transparence de la Communauté des Acteurs Européens "

Key principles

1. Efficiency

Relevance: We cover the key EU policies and news. Depth of coverage depends on our assessment of what is of most interest to EU Actors.
Simplicity: We provide clear and structured overviews, monitoring over time and writing short sentences.
Permanence: We follow topics over time, provide reliable databases and interfaces.

2. Transparency

We focus on policy debates upstream of decisions. We provide a forum for EU Actors in Brussels and at national level to contribute to the formulation of EU policy.

3. Neutrality

Balanced reporting: we publish most 'EU Actors' views and comments from others (subject to quality standards), plus fact-sheets and summaries. We are fact-based and include positions from different perspectives. We summarise issues and points of convergence, not taking sides.
Impartiality: we do not pursue other policy objectives apart from our baseline of promoting efficiency and transparency in EU decision-making.

We thank our sponsors by implementing this Mission and do not privilege their views. User satisfaction increases readership and hence revenues and promotes independence.

This means

1. Responsiveness

Being user-driven, through modern technologies and feed-back mechanisms
Saving the time of EU Actors, with practical services: News, Agenda, Yellow Pages, etc.
Stimulating a constructive debate about EU policies, displaying the positions of 'European Actors': Policy Sections, Update Emails, Advocacy ads, etc.
Giving access to other services, provided by content partners and commercial partners.

2. Professionalism

Quality: We build trust relationships with our partners and users by providing quality work, respecting deadlines and where appropriate confidentiality.
Commitment: We put service to 'EU Actors' and EurActiv's performance before our individual interests.

3. Empowerment

We, the team members, build trustworthy relationships among ourselves; they are key to EurActiv's success. Each team member must be able to grow through the sharing of:

knowledge (information, training, including self-training)
responsibilities (empowerment, initiative, team work)
results (incentives and holding of shares).

EurActiv also participated in the preparation of the following IFJ (International Federation of Journalists) Code of Conduct

Professional Guidelines for News Organisations in Brussels

The expansion of news outlets in Brussels is recognition of the importance of the city as a hub for information on political, corporate and civil society affairs and further enhances the role of Brussels as one of the world's main news centres. This expansion, including new electronic media, provides flexible and versatile ways of offering information services in the public interest.

The growth of new media services also provides a welcome opportunity to restate and reaffirm the values of independent journalism in a city where lobbying interests and political policymakers compete for influence.

All groups of journalists and media working from and based in Brussels should declare:

Their commitment to maintaining the highest standards of journalism, freedom of the press and pluralism;
That all issues relating to the ethics of journalism should be a matter for journalists and media professionals alone;
That the credibility of news and information depends on the highest ethical standards in the gathering, presentation and circulation of news material.

With these principles in mind, journalists' groups and news media organisations working in Brussels may consider adopting the following guidelines to promote editorial quality and internal and external transparency over media activity.

Media should:

Define and publish, where appropriate, an editorial mission statement;
Establish an internal editorial charter, in line with international standards, that secures the editorial independence of journalists and respects the norms of ethical practice (concerning, for example, right to act according to conscience, policy on receipt of inducements, gifts and facilities provided by public and private interests, dealing with complaints, etc);
Develop and publish a code of editorial conduct regarding content quality (concerning, for example, respect for the truth, the need for clearly attributed sources, respect for non-discrimination and tolerance, the objective of doing no harm, protection of sources, etc);
Ensure clear separation of advertising material and paid for space from editorial content in all publications, whatever the mode of dissemination;
Implement internal standards for monitoring the personal interests of employees and owners that may compromise editorial independence and which must be made known to the Editor in Chief;
Make available information on the external interests and ownership profile of the organisation;
Make available information regarding any benefits providing a pecuniary advantage provided by public authorities, including information on engagement in projects or activities funded by international organisations;
Provide employment conditions and/or working relations that reflect adherence to national and international labour standards;
Set up and publish details of a mechanism for dealing with complaints and making corrections where errors of fact have been made;
Appoint or designate a member of the staff to act as an ombudsman or contact person to whom concerns and problems of an ethical and professional nature can be addressed.