Reporters Tool Kit for covering the European Union: an essential primer on EU structures and bodies that helps reporters navigate the maze of the EU organizational infrastructure, tips on cultivating EU-level stories journalistic coverage of EU, coverage of stories in other EU countries/cross-country journalistic cooperation.

1. A journalist in
Brussels
by Giovanni Melogli

2. The EU is a paradise for journalists in terms of
transparency and access to information, a hell to
translate bureaucratic jargon into meaningful
information for citizens, and to find a mass media
to publish it.
In 2005 there were around 1.300 journalists
accredited to the EU, but this number has been
steadily falling since then, and in 2014 there are
only 900.
Cover EU affairs in
Brussels

3. Journalists’ Organisations
International Press Association
www.api-ipa.org
Association of European Journalists
www.aej.org
European Federation of Journalists
europe.ifj.org
Press Club Brussels – Europe
www.pressclub.be

4. UE Press Accreditation
Request permanet or temporary press
accreditation
European Commission's accreditation office
Danielle COULONVAL
Berlaymont -1/PRE6
Rue de la Loi 200/Wetstraat 200
B-1040 Brussels
Tel.: +32.2 (02)29 90170
Email: comm-press-accreditations@ec.europa.eu

5. Institutional and Political News
European Parliament - News
European Commission - Press releases
Council of the European Union - Press releases
EPP Group - News
S&D Group – Newsroom
.

6. Audiovisual Services
European Commission - Audiovisual Services
Europarl TV
European Council - Council of the UE - TV
Newsroom

7. Transparency
European institutions interaction with citizen’s associations,
NGOs, businesses, trade and professional organizations, trade
unions, think tanks, etc. is constant, legitimate and necessary for
the quality of democracy, for their capacity to deliver adequate
policies, matching needs and reality.
Citizens have a right to expect this process to be transparent and
to take place in compliance with the law as well as in due respect
of ethical principles, avoiding undue pressure, illegitimate or
privileged access to information or to decision makers.
EU Transparency Register
AIJ in the Register

8. Lobby & Stakeholder
BUSINESSEUROPE
Greenpeace - European Unit
Trade Union Confederation
The European Steel Association
European Association for Viewers Interests
FOODDRINK Europe

9. Case Study - MTDI
Trade policy is an exclusive competence for the EU,
meaning that the EU rather than individual Member
States is responsible for commercial policy and trade
agreements with non-EU countries.
Trade defence instruments (TDI), such as anti-
dumping or anti-subsidy duties, are ways of
protecting European production against international
trade distortions.
Modernisation Trade Defence Instruments (MTDI) –
EU Legislative Procedure

10. Amusing Ourselves to Death
by Neil Postman
“When a population becomes distracted by trivia,
when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of
entertainments, when serious public conversation
becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people
become an audience, and their public business a
vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk;
culture-death is a clear possibility.”
“Most of our daily news is inert, consisting of
information that gives us something to talk about but
cannot lead to any meaningful action.”