Dear collegues, API-IPA would like to share the following statement with you:

Last week, several complaints have reached us about the handling of news by the SPP.

Tuesday afternoon the Commission put out a statement (18/3982) of President Juncker concerning remarks of Commissioner Oettinger earlier the same day in an interview with Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany).

Journalists holding a permanent accreditation at NATO were unpleasantly surprised today when arriving at the alliance's new headquarters, where they were not given access on showing their permanent accreditation pass as usual, but also had to wait in a sometimes long line for a separate media-visitors badge and for a special badge to open the new turnstiles at the entrance gate. On top of that, identity cards were taken in and only given back after returning the two extra badges when leaving the NATO premises.

API has sent the following e-mail to European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas about the presentation of the press material about the Multiannual Financial Framework, last week by president Juncker: 

The European Council will make the access to the Lipsius and Europa buildings for accredited journalists a bit easier, something API has asked for sometime ago. The inter-institutional (yellow) badge will be 'upgraded' for that purpose. 

API held its 2018 Annual General Assembly on Tuesday 6 March 2018 in the Residence Palace, under the chairmanship of Tom Weingärtner, API's president. There were about twenty-five members present.

L'API a tenu son Assemblée Générale annuelle 2018 le mardi 6 mars 2018 au Residence Palace, sous la présidence de Tom Weingärtner, président de l'API. Il y avait environ vingt-cinq membres présents.

API-IPA mourns the death today of one of its co-founders, Guido Boodts (73), after a short sickbed.

Belgian journalist for De Standaard newspaper Boodts was one of a group of European journalists who decided in 1975 to establish the Association de la Presse Internationale as representative of the foreign correspondents covering European affairs in Brussels.

The International Press Association (API-IPA) is shocked by the murder of our Slovak collegue Jan Kuciak and his friend. API-IPA condemns this crime against a journalist. We expect the Slovak authorities to do their utmost to investigate the truth and to bring the perpetrators to justice. 

A very interesting API Hour was held on Monday 26/2 with the title 'What Future for Europe?' 

It was the presentation of the annual report on the European Economy by the influential European Economic Advisory Group, chaired by Prof. Dr. Clemens Fuest of the IFO Institute of the university of Munich. 

Les membres sont invités à l'Assemblée Générale annuelle de l'API-API le mardi 6 mars 2018 à 13h00 au Residence Palace, salle Maelbeek.

(L'assemblée est réservée aux membres de l'API) Seuls les membres qui ont payé leur cotisation 2017 et/ou 2018 peuvent voter à l'assemblée Les membres qui ne peuvent être présents peuvent voter par procuration, sous la forme d'une note manuscrite et signée, à un autre membre, à présenter au secrétariat de l'API au moins 24 heures avant la réunion. Chaque membre peut avoir un seul vote par procuration).

Members are invited to API-IPA's annual general meeting on Tuesday 6 March, 2018 at 13.00h at the Residence Palace, Maelbeek Room

(The assembly is for API-members only. Voting is only open to members who have paid their 2017 or 2018 membership fee. Members unable to attend may give aproxy vote, in the form of a hand written and signed note, to another member, to be presented to the API secretariat at least 24 hrs. beforethe meeting. Each member may have only oneproxy vote to cast).

 On February 13th an API Hour was held with Margaritis Schinas, the chief spokesperson of the European Commission. The theme was 'Communicating Europe', which Schinas used to explain the communication strategy of the Juncker Commission.

Today, Thomas Wieser gave his last press briefing as head of the Euro Working Group, which prepares the meetings of the Eurogroup ministers. On this occassion API-IPA issued this statement:

The International Press Association (API-IPA) wants to thank Thomas Wieser for the fair and professional briefings he held as chairman of the Euro Working Group. We always felt well informed by him and we regret that we lose him as a counterpart for the Brussels press corps. API wishes him all the best for his future work.