Editorial Standards & Policies

Sections on this page:

Foundation, Mission & Coverage Priorities
EURACTIV’s Media Network
Ethics Policy
Diverse voices
Diverse staffing
Senior editorial team
EURACTIV Network & agency bylines
Social media policy
Verification standards
Unnamed sources
Corrections
Feedback
Ownership
Current Projects
Privacy Policy
Contact information
About the Trust Project

Foundation, Mission & Coverage Priorities

EURACTIV is an independent pan-European media network specialised in EU affairs, established in 1999. We cover EU policy processes upstream of decisions, summarising the issues without taking sides.  EURACTIV’s policy coverage is spread across eight ‘hubs’, Agrifood, Economy, Energy & Environment, Global Europe, Health, Politics, Technology, and Transport. Our news coverage is complemented by a strong events programme where we bring together the key stakeholders across the breadth of European policy-making for constructive discussion and debate.

Our media network partners provide added value to the ‘Brussels perspective’ on EU news and policy debates with national angles and coverage localised to the interests and needs of our readers wherever they are in Europe. News from across Europe is brought together in EURACTIV’s flagship daily newsletter, The Capitals.

EURACTIV’s values

Pro-European & constructive: EURACTIV supports European integration and stands by the European project. EURACTIV’s content, criticism, debates, and other activities all aim to help advance Europe.

Pan-European & multilingual: EURACTIV’s network of offices across Europe and its web of media partners join together to ensure that coverage from all across Europe is reflected in EURACTIV, and as is many of Europe’s native languages as possible.

Transparency: EURACTIV clearly demarcate news from opinion and commercial communications. We build trustworthy relationships and respect our sources. EURACTIV has joined the Trust Project to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to transparency and strong journalistic ethics.

Media independence: EURACTIV maintain its independence with a diversified business model and it does not privilege views from sponsors. EURACTIV covers policy processes upstream of decisions, summarising issues without taking sides.

EURACTIV’s Media Network

The EURACTIV Media Network, consists of a mixture of independent news outlets: some carrying the name EURACTIV, and others with their own identity but who share our mission and with whom we collaborate on content. The Network covers much of the map of Europe and EURACTIV’s franchise partners translate its news into thirteen languages. Our map of the current partners of the EURACTIV Network is below.

Our media network partners complement the ‘Brussels perspective’ on EU news and policy debates with national angles and localise the coverage to the interests and needs of our readers.

In addition to our media network, within the EURACTIV family you can find:

• Platforms for use by professionals in EU Affairs: the EURACTIV JobSite, EURACTIV’s Press Release site, and the EURACTIV Agenda of events happening across the EU Affairs landscape.
• A dedicated site for EURACTIV’s Events
• EURACTIV’s MediaLab, a think-and-do tank for the health and future of the media sector.

Ethics Policy

EURACTIV content is produced in full impartiality, without favouring the political views of any national or international institution, government, political party or pressure group.

This obligation of independence dictates the conduct of all journalists, editors and staff members participating in preparing editorial content, from news-gathering to publication.

At a time of growing and sometimes justified public suspicion about the impartiality, accuracy and integrity of the media, EURACTIV and its staff maintain the highest ethical standards to ensure continued reader confidence in our content. EURACTIV expects of all its contributing writers full compliance with the Declaration of Duties of a Journalist available in English & German.

EURACTIV’s editor-in-chief acts as the guardian of the media’s editorial independence and impartiality and is the guarantor of its editorial policy, including strict observation of this charter and respect for the principles of honesty and pluralism of information.

Any reader can contact EURACTIV about its independent treatment of news and demand a right of reply.

EURACTIV takes seriously the need to avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Anyone in a professional relationship with EURACTIV must disclose a potential unavoidable conflict. 

Furthermore, journalists are asked to:

• Refuse gifts (financial or in-kind), favours, and special treatment, that may compromise integrity or impartiality, or may damage credibility. 
• Avoid party-political activity and/or campaigning for a political party.
• Be wary of sources offering information for favours or money; do not pay for access to news. Identify content provided by outside sources, whether paid or not.
• Deny favoured treatment to advertisers, donors or any other special interests, and resist internal and external pressure to influence coverage. Journalists should refer any attempt to make contact to the Commercial team of EURACTIV, who can be reached on euaffairs@euractiv.com. 

Diverse voices

For a European media, inclusivity is of ever-greater importance. EU policies can vary in their effects on different communities and being aware of these differences will only strengthen EURACTIV’s content. Bringing each perspective into the light has its own intrinsic value, but it also contributes to better policy-making, a more representative democracy, and greater understanding of one another on the diverse continent that is Europe.

The readership of EURACTIV comes from all over Europe, and beyond. The top countries for readership are consistently Belgium, the UK, Germany, France, and the US. 

Our policy coverage tends to be of most interest to those directly involved in a given policy field or who find it relates to their professional life while our pan-European news coverage has a broader appeal. In both cases, EURACTIV’s content is accessible to all which democratises access to insight on EU policy. 

Our European newsroom strives to include each perspective around any given policy debate, and to try and portray some of those audiences who are often less represented politically, e.g. young people, rural communities. Our mission is to serve all Europeans and so we are constantly looking to improve in this area and increase the number of people in Europe who feel represented in our news and policy coverage, and who find that it resonates with them.

If you think there are gaps in our coverage, whether topics not raised or perspectives not represented, do not hesitate to get in touch as your feedback is very helpful in identifying and resolving blindspots. There are full contact details below but you can also send an email to digital@euractiv.com.

Diverse staffing

We are thus aiming to represent the EU’s diversity in terms of languages but also nationalities. Our team comes from 26 different countries (some do not have EU citizenship) and while English is EURACTIV’s principal working language there are 25 other languages spoken in the office.

Reaching a diverse readership also builds on the diversity of our journalists allowing coverage from different national points. We want to be transparent about the diversity in our team which can only be improved if we capture the data about it. See some more details in the charts below.

Senior editorial team

Zoran Radosavljevic, Editor-in-Chief 

Zoran joined EURACTIV in 2017 after 20 years as a bureau chief for Reuters in the Balkans. A linguist and guitar player, he manages the flow and content of stories published on Euractiv.com. [zoran.radosavljevic@euractiv.com] (Twitter/LinkedIn)

Sarantis Michalopoulos, Senior Network Editor

Sarantis Michalopoulos is journalist and Senior Network Editor at EURACTIV. He has written extensively on EU Affairs in both English and Greek, with special regard to agriculture, food and health. Sarantis follows closely the ongoing development of the European integration process. [sarantis.michalopoulos@euractiv.com] (Twitter/LinkedIn)

Georgi Gotev, Senior Editor

Georgi Gotev is a journalist and Senior Editor for EURACTIV’s Global Europe policy hub and the Editor-in-Chief of EURACTIV’s Bulgarian edition. Georgi has a diplomatic background, and was part of the diplomatic team who opened the Bulgarian mission to the European Communities in 1993. In 2007-2008 he was the Spokesperson of the Stability Pact for southeastern Europe. With EURACTIV, Georgi writes about a range of issues, including EU foreign policy, EU-Russia relations, and the post-Soviet space. He has also covered national politics and elections in the member states, including Bulgaria, as well as European elections and EU Institutional Affairs. [georgi.gotev@euractiv.com] (Twitter/LinkedIn)

Gerardo Fortuna, Agrifood & Health Editor

Gerardo joined EURACTIV in 2018 covering agriculture and health policies and wider EU politics. [gerardo.fortuna@euractiv.com] (Twitter/LinkedIn)

Janós Allenbach-Ammann, Economy Editor

János Allenbach-Ammann has been economy editor at EURACTIV since September 2021. Before that he was a Brussels-based blogger writing about EU policy for a Swiss audience. Before moving to Brussels, he led political campaigns in Switzerland and worked in an insurance company. He has a master’s degree in finance as well as in international affairs. [janos.allenbach-ammann@euractiv.com] (Twitter/LinkedIn)

Frédéric Simon, Energy & Environment Editor

Frédéric Simon is EURACTIV’s energy and environment editor. A French-English bilingual, Frédéric joined the company in 2003 as telecoms reporter and has since covered almost every aspect of EU policy, including the euro zone debt crisis. For ten years, Frédéric was also Brussels correspondent for France24, the international TV channel. [frederic.simon@euractiv.com] (Twitter/LinkedIn)

Alexandra Brzozowski, Global Europe Editor

Alexandra Brzozowski has been Global Europe and Defence reporter since 2017, covering European security, defence and foreign affairs, with regional expertise in the EU’s neighbourhood, Eastern Partnership (and particularly Ukraine) and Central Asia. In 2022, she was promoted to editor of the hub and planning editor for summit coverage. She earned a Masters Degree in European Studies from KU Leuven, and a Bachelor’s degree in Publishing and Political Science from Freie Universität Berlin/VUB Brussels. [alexandra.brzozowski@euractiv.com] (Twitter/LinkedIn)

Benjamin Fox, Politics Editor

Benjamin joined EURACTIV in January 2018 from the United Kingdom and has led EURACTIV coverage of that country, especially during the negotiations around Brexit. He has led on the editing of submitted opinion pieces at EURACTIV alongside the Editor-in-Chief, and in 2022 he was formally made the Editor of EURACTIV’s Politics Hub. He also has a long and enduring interest in questions around international development, especially in Africa, and so frequently writes on this topic when there is an EU-angle to be covered. [benjamin.fox@euractiv.com] (Twitter)

Luca Bertuzzi, Technology Editor

Luca Bertuzzi is a journalist specialised in digital policy and EU affairs. He is Technology Editor at EURACTIV, where he manages an international team based in Brussels, Paris and Berlin. Luca regularly collaborates with IAPP, Tagesspiegel, la Repubblica and other publications. [luca.bertuzzi@euractiv.com] (Twitter/LinkedIn)

Sean Goulding Carroll, Transport Editor

Sean Goulding Carroll has been EURACTIV’s Transport Editor since January 2021. He covers all forms of mobility, from aviation, to maritime, to road transport, with a particular focus on EU transport policy. Prior to working for EURACTIV, Sean worked as a feature article writer in Dublin, Ireland, and carried out communications campaigns for EU-funded transport projects in Freiburg, Germany. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Dublin City University, and a master’s degree in Journalism and European Media from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He holds Irish and Australian citizenship. [sean.carroll@euractiv.com] (Twitter/LinkedIn)

Oliver Noyan, Senior Editor for EURACTIV Germany

Oliver Noyan joined EURACTIV in 2021 beginning work as a journalist for the Technology hub, reporting from Berlin. Very quickly Noyan became Senior Editor for EURACTIV DE, the German language edition of the media network, and he leads the team of journalists writing for EURACTIV from the German capital. [oliver.noyan@euractiv.de] (Twitter/LinkedIn)

Théo Bourgéry-Gonse, Editor for EURACTIV France

Théo Bourgery-Gonse is a Paris-based tech & economics reporter for EURACTIV, with a close focus on the gig economy. He also runs the day-to-day affairs of EURACTIV’s team of journalists in Paris. Théo previously worked on Brexit negotiations at the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a Bachelor’s from McGill University. [theo.bourgery-gonse@euractiv.fr] (Twitter/LinkedIn)

EURACTIV Network & agency bylines

At EURACTIV, most content is produced by named journalists in Brussels, Paris, Berlin or the wider EURACTIV Network. The author’s name is always placed between the headline and the text of the articles.

When an article of the network is published on one of the three websites, the source of the latter is always mentioned on its top and bottom, and translated by a member of the team in Brussels. 

Additionally, EURACTIV often works with agency bylines. In this case, the mention : “EURACTIV with -name of the agency- is mentioned. The agencies / news publishers currently used are the following: 

• Reuters, England. Founded 170 years ago, Reuters is a global news agency in England that reaches billions of people everyday. Learn more about Reuters.

• Telex, Hungary. Telex is a free and independent Hungarian news portal. Its journalists cover a wide range of topics from Budapest, where the headquarters of the media are based. Learn more about Telex. 

• AFP, France. The Agence France Press is a French leading global news agency providing fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the events shaping our world and of the issues affecting our daily lives. Learn more about the AFP. 

• EFE, Spain. EFE is a 82 years old news agency, the first one in Castellan. They own 5 editing desks all over the world and employ more than 300 professionals of 60 different nationalities. Learn more about EFE. 

• Lusa, Portugal. Lusa is the largest portuguese news agency. They publish news about culture, sport, economy, national, and international news. Learn more about Lusa. 

Social media policy

EURACTIV’s social media channels are a space for respectful dialogue and discussion around the content that we publish. We support diversity of opinion, providing that all those engaging do so in good faith, and express themselves in a civilised manner. 

We reserve the right to remove commentary and block users who do otherwise, personally attack the journalists writing for EURACTIV, or who engage in hateful activities.

When engaging online with EURACTIV, and generally, bear in mind the following four principles:

1. Dialogue, not monologue: If you engage in a debate, strive to be clear and specific. Stay on topic, stay evidence-based, and remember you are engaging with other human beings.
2. No venue for online hate speech: Any forms of propaganda, threat, inflammatory comments, personal insults or defamatory and discriminating remarks are not tolerated anywhere on EURACTIV. “Do as you would be done by” – recall this rule before you press the “send” button. In case you detect hate speech coming from fellow users, report these comments straight away and avoid engaging with the author.
3. The Internet is not a “lawless” space: Check whether you are entitled to share a post, post a link or publish content before doing so. Copyright, intellectual property rights, the right to the protection of one’s image and appropriate marking of quotations – none of these lose validity online. Moreover, followers should not use fake accounts to engage in debates – EURACTIV aims to strengthen transparent discussions and seeks to limit any form of bias and distortion.
4. EURACTIV is not a free advertising platform: EURACTIV has set up several online accounts to foster a pan-European dialogue. Non-official advertisements and spam of all sorts hinder coherent conversations and are therefore removed from EURACTIV pages.

If you see comments that you believe to be problematic, please contact digital@euractiv.com.

Verification standards

EURACTIV is committed to accuracy in all its content and being factually correct both as a value in its own right and because accuracy and accessibility are absolutely vital for coverage of EU policy to be of use to the reader. Claims made are interrogated and not left published without context. Stories encompass multiple perspectives and corroboration from different sources in order to flush out the truth. Where possible EURACTIV goes back to primary rather than secondary sources and links are provided within the article.

There are additional steps EURACTIV takes to verify facts as well as to encourage and make corrections.

Every article published by EURACTIV is checked by at least two editors, sometimes multiple times.

The standard verification procedure is as follows: 

1. Articles are first checked by the hub editor, who fact-checks the article using their policy expertise. 
2. A second check is carried out by an editor for structure, grammar and style, along with additional fact verification. 
3. For anything the second-round editors are unsure of, they flag to the author and the hub editor. In parallel, they seek to find the same information in another credible source. 
4. In some cases, a third editor will review before publication. When there are many or significant changes to an article, it will be given back to the author or the hub editor for a final check.

Unnamed sources

Using an unnamed source is rare and reporters do not grant “off the record” interviews. However, confidentiality must sometimes be applied in order to protect the source. The journalist will by default name their sources unless explicitly asked not to do so. When such a request is made the journalist consults with an Editor that confidentiality makes sense to apply. In parallel, they also attempt to find alternative sources that are willing to go on the record.

The only justifications EURACTIV will consider for protecting the identity of a source are:

• The publication of important facts is only possible if the identity of the source is protected, and there is no alternative source that can be relied upon.
• Revealing the source’s identity will significantly endanger or harm them and so we have a duty to protect them.

The decision to withhold the source is always checked with the Editor and where possible the claims made by the unnamed source will be corroborated with further, referenced, evidence. 

When a source is unnamed EURACTIV endeavours to use descriptions in absence of a name when discussing sources (e.g.  an official within the Albanian ministry of health). 

Types of interviews

Ahead of any interview with a source, the journalist must clarify the type of interview being conducted, so they can give informed consent to it taking place. There are three types of interview conducted by journalists for EURACTIV, adopting the approach taken by the Associated Press: 

• On the record. The information can be used with no caveats, quoting the source by name.
• Off the record. The information cannot be used for publication. Background. The information can be published but only under conditions negotiated with the source. Generally, the sources do not want their names published but will agree to a description of their position. Reporters should object vigorously when a source wants to brief a group of reporters on background and try to persuade the source to put the briefing on the record.
• Deep background. The information can be used but without attribution. The source does not want to be identified in any way, even on condition of anonymity.

In general, information obtained under any of these circumstances can be pursued with other sources to be placed on the record.

Corrections

Though every article published on EURACTIV is reviewed twice before publication, even the best news coverage can contain errors or require further clarification. 

Any reader can propose a correction on the content of any article via several channels:

• Contact form
• Via our social media channels
• Contacting the article’s author directly [forename.surname@euractiv.com]
• Or by email to digital@euractiv.com

When a mistake is identified, or in cases where the right of reply is granted, an editor will look at the original and double check if it is appropriate to amend it. 

When approved, at the top of the text, a section is created to state that a change was made. For example, “Updated with comments from/Updated to correct a mistake relating to ***” and then the addition or correction is made in the text. If it is a significant mistake, we would ask the article be republished on social media to give it the same visibility as the original. We also collect significant corrections on a separate page, so as to be transparent.

Feedback

We value the feedback of our readers. The founding mission of EURACTIV is to create a truly European media space, where there had not been one previously. Anticipating the needs of a European audience is not something that can be done in isolation from that audience and so a robust, healthy, and ongoing exchange with EURACTIV’s readers is essential to keeping our content relevant as technology, topics, and interests change. We are also committed to excellence and continuous improvement. Reader feedback is one of the principal ways we can understand if EURACTIV is on the right path, and where it is not, identify improvements.

If you have feedback you wish to give to EURACTIV the most direct way to reach us is via email on digital@euractiv.com or through the contact form on our website. We can also be contacted on Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Reddit, Youtube, TikTok, Instagram, Telegram, Mastodon. 

We try to process every message we receive and take all constructive remarks into account, whether by forwarding it to the relevant person or answering directly. However, all of EURACTIV’s communications channels are monitored by human beings also needing a work-life balance which may lead to times when it takes longer to respond.

From time-to-time EURACTIV will also directly ask for opinions from its readers via email surveys, and social media polls/other Q&A exercises. If you see such a request, please do fill it in as it will help improve the news and policy coverage you see.

Ownership

EURACTIV Media Network BV is owned by the European media publisher Mediahuis which is based in the Netherlands.

EURACTIV’s governance is led by a committee of Directors composed of David Mekkaoui (CEO of EURACTIV), Marc Vangeel (Mediahuis Group development) and René Moerland (Editor-in-Chief NRC).  The committee applies no influence over the editorial choices of EURACTIV. EURACTIV’s content and the fulfilment of the Editorial Mission are coordinated by Editor-in-Chief Zoran Radosavljevic. The strategy and management of EURACTIV is led by Chief Executive Officer David Mekkaoui.EURACTIV’s funding comes from both the private (85%) and public (15%) sector. No one actor is dominant on the private side and activities are spread across commercial partnerships and sponsorship of EURACTIV content (always clearly labelled as such), a programme of events, and separate products such as the EURACTIV Jobsite, to name a few. This mix of activities is important to keep EURACTIV not overly dependent on any one source of revenue, which would risk compromising independence.

Where content is not produced independently by the Editorial team, it is always flagged as Advertiser Content (previously Promoted Content), with a light blue background distinguishing it from the rest of EURACTIV’s Editorial coverage. Where content is editorially produced but the piece itself is directly made possible through funding, whether that funding comes from a commercial sponsor, a grant through a trust or foundation, or a project grant provider by a state institution, this is made clear with a “Supported” label and information identifying the sponsor (on the right in desktop view, at the bottom of the article in mobile view).

Current Projects

The projects we are currently implementing that receive funding from either the public sector or trusts and foundations are:

Privacy Policy

Read our Privacy Policy here.

Contact information

If you need to contact EURACTIV whether with corrections, comments, complaints, compliments, questions, or tips, you can do so via the options listed below:

• Contact form
• E-mail to digital@euractiv.com (this will be forwarded to the most pertinent colleague)
• If you have an opinion piece for EURACTIV to consider email opinion@euractiv.com. Please make sure your opinion piece conforms to the guidelines.
• Social Media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Reddit, Youtube, TikTok, Instagram, Telegram, Mastodon
• Any EURACTIV author can be emailed directly on [forename.surname@euractiv.com]
• For contacts in specific policy hubs, contact the relevant Hub Editor (listed under Senior editorial team).

About the Trust Project

The Trust Project is a global network of news organisations who adhere to a set of eight “Trust Indicators” that represent a gold standard for trustworthiness and transparency in media. The project works with technology platforms to affirm and amplify journalism’s commitment to transparency, accuracy, inclusion and fairness in order to help the public make informed news choices. EURACTIV joined the Trust Project in 2023.