Tempers flare in row over press service

Date: 02/12/1999

By Gareth Harding

RELATIONS between Brussels-based journalists and the European Commission's press service have sunk to an all-time low, just months after President Romano Prodi promised to put them on a new footing.

The world's largest press corps held its first-ever meeting devoted solely to relations with the Commission late last week amid growing concern over the changes which have been introduced since the Prodi team took office.

In a letter to its members afterwards, the International Press Association (known by its French acronym API) said the meeting had "confirmed the general feeling of malaise" about the recently-formed Media and Communication Service.

The API is particularly angry at the way in which the Commission's midday press briefings are broadcast live on the 'Europe by Satellite' channel. It argues that this practice "no longer allows briefings to be held on a flexible, off-the-record basis" and fails to protect the identity of journalists.

The association has called on the Commission to adopt the German system, under which the entire press conference is broadcast but the sound is cut for 'off-the-record' comments. But this idea has been rejected by the press service. "We are not going to let ourselves be bullied out of using modern technology to get our message across," said the new head of the service Jonathan Faull.

However, he said the Commission was likely to limit television coverage in future to 'show-case' events such as Commissioners' press conferences and the midday briefing on Wednesdays - when the full College meets - instead of broadcasting it every day.

At last week's meeting, journalists cited a host of other reasons for the deterioration in relations between the two sides.

API members said they "strongly deplored" the Commission's decision to provide MEPs with information on proposals before the media and accused spokesmen of giving vague answers to their questions, drawing up poor press releases and failing to be available when needed. "We have the impression that many press officers do not really want to communicate with our colleagues," stated the letter.

But Faull dismissed most of the charges levelled against his service as unfounded. "If people choose to react to change by criticising individual spokesmen, they are missing the point," he said, insisting that the service would "not go back to the days of the old regime", which was panned for its opacity and shambolic structure.

The API is now demanding an urgent meeting with Prodi and is threatening to react "more strongly and visibly" if its demands are not met.

A vocal minority of hardliners is urging journalists to take radical action, such as mass walk-outs from the press room. But API Council member Michael Stabenow urged caution, warning: "Unless you can deliver on threats, you should not make them."

Relations between Brussels-based journalists and the European Commission's press service have sunk to an all-time low, just months after President Romano Prodi promised to put them on a new footing. The world's largest press corps held its first-ever meeting devoted solely to relations with the Commission late in November 1999 amid growing concern over the changes which have been introduced since the Prodi team took office.