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API had a meeting with spokeswoman Marjory van den Broeke of the European Parliament about a few outstanding issues:

  • Press entrance to the EP buildings in Brussels: last year a new dedicated press line was established at the visitors entrance to the PHS building, but there were many complaints about the functioning of this facility. Now the dedicated press line will be indicated more clearly and journalists with an accreditation (the yellow inter-institutional badge) will have priority at the security check. The guards will be instructed again to allow them this priority over visitors waiting in line (there will be no special scanners for journalists). After this security check they will no longer have to be escorted by a guard to the revolving door giving access to the building itself, as from later this month on every accredited journalist will be able to obtain a special badge which will open this lock gate. More information about this will follow soon.

  • Photographers: Van den Broeke will investigate if it is possible to make access easier for photographers, who now need special badges to be able to operate in the EP and who need to sign every time again a declaration accepting the special rules for picture taking in the parliament. She will investigate the possibly of a one-time acceptance for regular accredited photographers and cameramen.

  • Photographers also have a problem with the fact that at high level events in the plenary (like visiting leaders etc.) access to the floor of the hemicyle is limited to only four photographers, mostly working for the same four big agencies. Individual photographers and those working for smaller media want to have access too, for instance on a rotating basis. The EP will look into this request.

  • Censoring speech: API has a problem with the decision taken by the Parliament in December last year, giving the president of the EP not only the power to cut off an MEP/speaker in case he/she misbehaves or voices offensive, racist or otherwise objectionable language, but also to cut off the transmission of this speech by EbS or Europarl-tv to the outside world. This means journalists following the proceedings from outside the EP premises will be at a disadvantage compared to those working in the hemicyle. API stresses that in any case the recordings of this kind of event, including the disputed speech, should be archived for later reference by journalists. Otherwise they can never report factually about what has happened in an otherwise public session. API asks that for users of the archives it must be recognisable whether a video is complete and where something is missing, and also the written minutes of the plenery in question must be complete.

API regrets that it was not consulted about this initiative by the parliament, which went unnoticed until weeks after it was voted on. API has asked whether the procedure has already been applied and will inform the Brussels press corps as soon as this Information is available.

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