On January 24th the API Bureau had its annual meeting with Margaritis Schinas and his staff to evaluate the workings of the European Commission’s Spokespersons Service and the experiences of the foreign correspondents corps with them. This is a summary of the topics discussed.
- Journalists receive priority access to the Berlaymont scanners in the specific press lanes during the hours of 10.00 and 14.30, and at other times if requested by the Spokespersons’ Service. The sensitivity level of the X-ray machines is still in the process of being fine-tuned, especially in reaction to complaints from journalists.
- Security personnel at entrances to Commission buildings other than the Berlaymont or Charlemagne will no longer register names of visiting journalists. The yellow badge is enough ID. But visiting journalists will still have to be met and accompanied by EC-staff in those buildings.
- Links to the online “Upcoming Events”, which contains the stable points of the agenda of the weekly college meetings and other upcoming college events are already included in the Daily News. The information will be highlighted even more in Daily News and other publications. The “Upcoming Events” will contain only items that are sufficiently stable to be published. The ‘political’ nature of this Commission makes it difficult to present a more provisional medium and longterm agenda, like the old Topnews.
- Margaritis Schinas is willing to organize from time to time off-the-record/background briefings in the press room to present and discuss in advance the college’s agenda and objectives.
- In case there are more questions than the Commissioners can or want to answer in the weekly college read-out, it can be decided ad-hoc to continue after the read-out with a short Midday briefing.
- MS promises that spokespersons will try to limit simply referring to answers that have been given to the same questions days before.
- The SPP will again try to have more (press) documents originally written in English translated timely into French
- The SPP takes note of the wish to see President Juncker more frequently in the press room.
