Russian news agency TASS excluded. It worked the third time

20 news agencies took part in the vote, which took place during the EANA session in Larnaca, Cyprus. 19 of them supported the request to exclude TASS, which was submitted by the Ukrainian agency Ukrinform. A three-quarters majority of the votes present in the room was required to make a decision.

During the presentation of the proposal, Natalia Kostina, deputy director general of Ukrinform, emphasized that "news agencies are an element of the critical infrastructure of society, and TASS uses this position to participate in a hybrid operation against Ukraine and Europe and spreads disinformation." During the discussion, attention was repeatedly drawn to the lack of independent journalism in Russia and the lack of grounds for TASS's continued membership in EANA.

The third attempt was successful

This was the third attempt to exclude TASS from EANA. The first request in this matter was submitted by the Polish Press Agency just after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Another attempt took place in 2023, but each time the required majority of votes was missing.

As of March 2022, TASS was suspended from being a member of EANA and could not participate in the association's meetings or conferences.

New member from Lithuania

During the same meeting, EANA welcomed the Lithuanian agency ELTA to its membership. The agency, whose origins date back to 1920, employs 20 journalists, six photojournalists and video operators. ELTA broadcasts news in Lithuanian, English and Russian, focusing 60 percent on domestic news and 40 percent on foreign news.

EANA – a forum for cooperation between European press agencies

The European Association of News Agencies was established in 1956 as a platform for cooperation and representation of the interests of European news agencies. According to the statute, only one news agency from each country can participate in EANA. After the recent changes, the number of association members remains at 33 agencies.

The Polish Press Agency has been an active member of EANA since the early 1990s.