European Alliance of News Agencies
Professional services
UnclaimedA European federation of news agencies that promotes cooperation, professional standards, and the shared interests of its members.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
The European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) is a federation representing news agencies operating in Europe. Established on 21 August 1956, it provides an institutional framework through which member agencies can exchange experience, cooperate on common professional and business concerns, and defend the role of independent news agencies in national and international media systems. Its headquarters are in Bern, Switzerland, at the seat of the Swiss Telegraphic Agency, also known as sda. EANA emerged after the interruption of an earlier association, Agences Alliées. That predecessor had been founded in 1924 but ceased its activities during the Second World War. The creation of EANA in 1956 restored a formal network for European news agencies during a period when national agencies remained central suppliers of political, economic, cultural, and general-interest news to newspapers, broadcasters, and other media organizations. The alliance’s statutes define its purpose in terms of safeguarding and promoting the common interests of its members and ensuring that member agencies can operate as providers of unbiased news. EANA also supports freedom of the press and seeks to help its members work in accordance with that principle. In practice, the organization functions as a professional and representational association rather than as a consumer-facing news publisher. Its members remain independent agencies with their own ownership structures, editorial policies, and national markets. The importance of organizations such as EANA reflects the distinctive position of news agencies in the media ecosystem. Agencies are deeply integrated into national media systems and supply reporting that is frequently reused by newspapers, broadcasters, digital publishers, public institutions, and commercial clients. A 2019 London School of Economics study described news agencies as a comparatively neglected but valuable subject for examining structural change in the contemporary media environment. EANA provides a European forum for discussing those changes and for representing common agency interests. Leadership of the alliance has included senior executives from major European agencies. Peter Kropsch, chief executive of Germany’s Deutsche Presse-Agentur, became EANA president on 21 September 2018. Earlier presidents identified in reference material include Jonas Eriksson, chief executive of Sweden’s TT News Agency, who served from 2016 to 2018, and Clive Marshall, chief executive of the United Kingdom’s Press Association, who served for two years from September 2014. EANA also recognizes achievement among its members through an annual quality award. The 2015 award for excellence went to Agence France-Presse and its global news director, Michèle Léridon. EANA’s significance lies less in a branded product portfolio than in its role as a coordinating body for European news agencies. Its activities are connected to professional cooperation, quality, press freedom, editorial reliability, and the continuing adaptation of agency journalism to a changing media and digital distribution environment.
History
The European Alliance of News Agencies, commonly known as EANA, was founded on 21 August 1956 as a federation for news agencies in Europe. Its creation followed the earlier Agences Alliées, an association established in 1924 whose activities were discontinued during the Second World War. EANA therefore represented both a postwar renewal of European agency cooperation and an institutional response to the continuing importance of national news agencies in the media landscape. The organization is based in Bern, Switzerland, at the seat of the Swiss Telegraphic Agency, or sda. Its role is primarily collective and professional: EANA does not operate as a single editorial newsroom or replace the national agencies that belong to it. Instead, it offers a framework for collaboration, representation, discussion of shared concerns, and recognition of professional quality. Its statutes state that the alliance exists to protect and promote the common interests of its members and to help them work as providers of unbiased news. They also associate EANA with the principles of press freedom. The institutional setting in which EANA operates has changed substantially since the 1950s. News agencies were historically key suppliers of information to newspapers and broadcasters, while digital publishing has expanded the number of distributors and accelerated the circulation of agency material. Despite those changes, agencies remain embedded in national media systems and continue to serve publishers, broadcasters, public institutions, and other professional users. A 2019 London School of Economics study on news agencies characterized them as an important but underexamined lens for understanding structural changes in contemporary media. EANA’s continuing purpose can be understood in this context: it gives European agencies a collective forum while leaving editorial and commercial operations with individual members. EANA has been led by executives from major European agencies. Clive Marshall, chief executive of the British Press Association, served as president for two years from September 2014. Jonas Eriksson, chief executive of Sweden’s TT News Agency, held the presidency from 2016 to 2018. Peter Kropsch, chief executive of Germany’s Deutsche Presse-Agentur, became president on 21 September 2018. These leadership transitions illustrate the organization’s practice of drawing its senior representatives from the management of established member agencies. The alliance also maintains a quality-recognition function. It awards an annual prize to members, and the 2015 EANA Award for Excellence was given to Agence France-Presse and its global news director, Michèle Léridon. Such recognition complements the organization’s broader emphasis on reliable and unbiased news provision. EANA’s history is thus the history of a professional federation rather than a conventional commercial brand. Its activities center on cooperation among European agencies, shared advocacy, press freedom, professional standards, and adaptation to changes in the media environment. Reference material identifies 32 members as of 2023, although the available material does not provide a complete membership list.
- 2023
Membership reaches 32 agencies
[1]Reference material identifies 32 EANA members as of 2023.
- 2018
Peter Kropsch becomes president
[1]Peter Kropsch, chief executive of Deutsche Presse-Agentur, becomes EANA president on 21 September 2018.
- 2016
Jonas Eriksson becomes president
[1]Jonas Eriksson, chief executive of Sweden’s TT News Agency, begins serving as EANA president.
- 2015
First identified EANA Award for Excellence recipient in the reference material
[1]Agence France-Presse and global news director Michèle Léridon receive the EANA Award for Excellence for 2015.
- 2014
Clive Marshall begins presidential term
[1]Clive Marshall, chief executive of the Press Association, becomes EANA president for a two-year term.
- 1956
EANA is established
[1]The European Alliance of News Agencies is founded on 21 August 1956 as a federation of European news agencies.
- 1924
Predecessor Agences Alliées is founded
[1]Agences Alliées, the predecessor association to EANA, is established to support cooperation among news agencies before the Second World War.
Products and positioning
A professional and representative federation for European news agencies, focused on members’ shared interests, cooperation, quality, unbiased reporting, and press freedom.
Industry association · 1956
Membership and professional federation
EANA’s core offering is its federation structure for European news agencies. Membership gives agencies a shared institutional forum for cooperation, exchange of experience, and discussion of common interests. The alliance represents agencies collectively while members retain their own editorial, operational, and ownership structures.
Professional award
EANA Award for Excellence
The annual EANA Award for Excellence recognizes quality or achievement among member news agencies and their professionals. The 2015 award was presented to Agence France-Presse and its global news director, Michèle Léridon.
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