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UNBOXING THE EU: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR JOURNALISTS

  1. What are the EU institutions and what are their functions and responsibilities?

There are 4 main decision-making institutions, which collectively provide the EU with policy direction and play different roles in the law-making process.

The European Parliament

The European Parliament represents the citizens of EU countries and is directly elected by them. EU countries hold elections every five years to elect Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who represent hundreds of millions of citizens. With the elections in 2024, the number of overall MEPs increased to 720. The Parliament takes decisions on European laws jointly with the Council of the European Union (EU Member State governments), including the multiannual and annual budget. The EP holds other EU institutions, like the European Commission, to account.

MEPs also elect the President of the European Commission and play a key role in vetting Commissioner-designates through individual hearings. They then choose whether to approve the College of Commissioners – how one refers to the 27 commissioners collectively – through a consent vote.

The European Council

The European Council is composed of the heads of state or government of EU countries, and is the institution that defines the general political direction and priorities of the European Union. The European Council is chaired by a president who is elected for a 2.5-year term, renewable once.

The European Council (EUCO) does not negotiate or adopt EU laws. Its main role is to determine the EU’s political direction.

The Council of the European Union

The Council represents the governments of EU countries. The Council of the EU is where national ministers from each member state meet to negotiate and adopt EU legislation and coordinate certain policies. The Council meets in 10 different configurations, each corresponding to the policy area being discussed. Depending on the configuration, each country sends its minister responsible for that particular policy area.

The Council of the EU adopts European laws, most of the time jointly with the European Parliament. Council meetings take place in Brussels, except for three months (April, June and October) when they are held in Luxembourg.

Almost all law-making requires a proposal from the European Commission. Most Commission proposals require joint adoption by the Council and the European Parliament. The Council of the EU is not to be confused with the Council of Europe, which is not an EU body at all.

The European Commission

The European Commission is the EU’s main executive body. It uses its ‘right of initiative’ to put forward proposals for new laws, which are scrutinised and adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. It also manages EU policies and the EU’s budget and ensures that countries apply EU law correctly. Representation offices act as the Commission’s voice across the EU. They monitor and analyse public opinion in their host country, provide information about EU policies and the way the EU works, and facilitate the Commission’s cooperation with the host member country.

In most cases, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission produce the policies and laws that apply throughout the EU. The Commission proposes new laws, and the Parliament and Council of the European Union amend and approve them. The member countries then implement them, and the Commission ensures that the laws are properly applied.

The work of these EU institutions is complemented by the work of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the European Court of Auditors. These three institutions are responsible for managing the judicial, financial and external audit aspects of the European Union.

  • What are the EU bodies and what is the difference with the institutions?

In addition to the institutions, a number of bodies play specialised roles in helping the EU to fulfil its tasks. These are the European External Action Service, the European Economic and Social Committee, European Committee of the Regions, European Ombudsman, European Data Protection Supervisor, European Data protection Board, and European Public Prosecutor’s office.

In contrast to the institutions, EU bodies are not directly involved in the decision-making process, but more focused on specific areas of policy or administration.

You can learn more about their role here.

The European External Action Service (EEAS)

The EEAS is the European Union’s diplomatic service. It helps the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission implement the EU’s common foreign and security policy, and ensures the consistency and coordination of the EU’s external action. It has a network of EU Delegations throughout the world.

European Investment Bank (EIB)

The EIB is the lending arm of the European Union. It focuses its activities on climate and the environment, development, innovation and skills, small and medium-sized businesses, infrastructure and cohesion.

3. How are the President, Commissioners, and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) elected, and what are their responsibilities?

The European Parliament

The European Parliament is made up of 720 Members elected in the 27 EU countries. Since 1979, MEPs have been elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year period.

The European elections are organised according to member states’ national legislation, though there are a number of common provisions established by EU law. Proportional representation has to be ensured, and while most of the countries are organised as a single constituency some – Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Poland – divide their territories into multiple constituencies.

Find details on these and other organisational aspects of the elections in this infographic and this briefing.

Seats are allocated on the basis of population of each Member State. At the moment, more than a third of MEPs are women. MEPs are grouped by political affinity, not nationality.

The last elections to the European Parliament took place on 6-9 June 2024, with the European People’s Party winning the most seats (188) in the elections.

MEPs divide their time between their constituencies, Strasbourg – where 12 plenary sittings a year are held – and Brussels, where they attend additional plenary sittings, as well as committee and political group meetings.

The European Commission

Political leadership is provided by a team of 27 Commissioners (one from each EU country) – led by the Commission President, who decides who is responsible for which policy area.

The College of Commissioners is composed of the President of the Commission, eight Vice-Presidents, including three Executive Vice-Presidents, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and 18 Commissioners, each responsible for a specific policy sector (portfolio).

The day-to-day running of Commission business is performed by its staff, organised into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs), each responsible for a specific policy area.

Together, the 27 Members of the College act as the Commission’s political leadership during a five-year term.

The candidate for president is put forward by national leaders in the European Council, taking account of the results of the European Parliament elections. He or she needs the support of a majority of members of the European Parliament in order to be elected.

Each nominee for the Commission (commissioner designate) appears before the European Parliament to explain their vision and answer questions. Parliament then votes on whether to accept the designated Commissioners as a team. Finally, they are appointed by the European Council, by a qualified majority.

According to the treaties, the President decides on the organisation of the Commission and allocates portfolios to individual Commissioners. The President also sets the Commission’s policy agenda.

The President represents the Commission in European Council meetings, G7 and G20 summits, summits with non-EU countries and major debates in the European Parliament and the Council.

  • How does the member states’ presidency work?

Each EU country holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union in turn on a six-month rotating basis. During this six-month period, the presidency chairs meetings at every level in the Council, helping to ensure the continuity of the Council’s work.

For the Council presidency there is no election: every country takes its turn. This means that every member state – however big or small – holds the presidency of the Council. Their turn comes every 13-and-a-half years.

The presidency is responsible for driving forward the Council’s work on EU legislation, ensuring the continuity of the EU agenda, orderly legislative processes and cooperation among member states. To do this, the presidency must act as an honest and neutral broker.

One of the presidency’s main tasks is planning and chairing meetings in the Council and its preparatory bodies, which include permanent committees such as the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper), and working parties and committees dealing with specific subjects.

The presidency also ensures that discussions are conducted properly and that the Council’s rules of procedure and working methods are correctly applied.

It also organises various formal and informal meetings in Brussels and in the country of the rotating presidency.

It represents the Council in relations with the other EU institutions. Its role is to try and reach agreement on legislative files.

The presidency works in close coordination with the President of the European Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. It supports their work and may sometimes be requested to perform certain duties for the High Representative, such as representing the Foreign Affairs Council or chairing the Foreign Affairs Council when it discusses common commercial policy issues.

You can learn more about the current and upcoming presidencies, their programme, priorities and website, here.

5. How are EU policies and legislation defined? What is the role of EU institutions and member states in this?

The European Union is more than just a confederation of countries, but it is not a federal state. In fact, its structure does not fall into any traditional legal category. It is historically unique, and its decision-making system has been constantly evolving for the past 60 years or so.

The treaties, ‘primary’ legislation, are the basis for a large body of ‘secondary’ legislation which has a direct impact on the daily lives of EU citizens. The secondary legislation consists mainly of regulations, directives and recommendations adopted by the EU institutions.

These laws, along with EU policies in general, are the result of decisions taken by the European Parliament (representing the people), the Council (representing national governments) and the European Commission (the executive body independent of EU governments that upholds the collective European interest).

6. What is the role of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy?

The common foreign and security policy and the common security and defence policy define the EU’s main foreign policy tasks and are led by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP).

The main functions of this post are:  

  • overall steering of the Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. The High Representative contributes with proposals to the shaping of the common foreign and security policy and ensures implementation of the decisions adopted by the European Council and the Council;
  • building consensus between the EU member states, including through chairing meetings between EU foreign ministers, defence ministers, trade and development ministers;
  • operational conduct of EU military and civilian missions and operations around the world;
  • ensuring consistency and coherence of the EU’s external action: the HR/VP is in charge, within the Commission, of coordinating other aspects of the EU’s external action (e.g. trade, development, neighbourhood policy and humanitarian aid);
  • representing the Union on issues relating to the common foreign and security policy: the HR/VP engages in political dialogues with third parties on behalf of the Union and presents the EU’s position in international organisations (e.g. UN, NATO) or negotiations (Iran Deal, Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue);
  • regularly updating the European Parliament on foreign policy and security issues;
  • leading the EU’s diplomatic network of some 144 EU Diplomatic Representations around the world;
  • heading the European Defence Agency and the EU Institute for Security Studies.

To learn more, go here.

Meanwhile, Member States continue to play their own individual diplomatic roles. Yet it is when the European Union speaks with one voice that it is seen as a truly global player. Europe’s credibility and influence are enhanced when the EU combines its economic might and trading power with the gradual implementation of a common security and defence policy.

7. What is COREPER and how does it work?

COREPER (short for Comité des Représentants Permanents) is a key institution in the decision-making process of the European Union. It stands for the Committee of Permanent Representatives and is composed of the permanent representatives (essentially, ambassadors) of each EU member state to the European Union.

COREPER plays a crucial role in the EU’s legislative and policy-making processes. Its main responsibilities are to:

  • coordinate and prepare the work of the different Council configurations;
  • ensure consistency of the EU’s policies;
  • work out agreements and compromises which are then submitted for adoption by the Council.

Within COREPER, member states’ representatives discuss, negotiate, and try to reach a compromise on the proposal. These discussions are crucial as they aim to reconcile different national interests. Often, technical details are worked out in specialised working groups composed of national experts. These working groups report to COREPER.

If COREPER reaches an agreement, the proposal is forwarded to ministers in the Council, usually for formal adoption without further debate. If COREPER cannot reach a consensus, the issue is escalated to the ministers in the Council for further negotiation. The Council of the EU, informed by COREPER’s work, takes the final decision on the proposal.

COREPER is central to the smooth functioning of the EU because it filters and resolves many of the technical and political details before they reach the higher political level in the Council. This makes the decision-making process more efficient, and ensures that by the time proposals reach the ministers, they have been thoroughly vetted and refined.

8. What is the difference between a regulation, a directive, a recommendation, an opinion and a decision?

Regulations

A “regulation” is a binding legislative act. It must be applied in its entirety across the EU. For example, when the EU’s regulation on ending roaming charges while travelling within the EU expired in 2022, the Parliament and the Council adopted a new regulation both to improve the clarity of the previous regulation and make sure a common approach on roaming charges is applied for another ten years.

Directives

A “directive” is a legislative act that sets out a goal that EU countries must achieve within a given time. However, it is up to the individual countries to devise their own laws on how to reach these goals. One example is the EU single-use plastics directive, which reduces the impact of certain single-use plastics on the environment, for example by reducing or even banning the use of single-use plastics such as plates, straws and cups for beverages.

Decisions

A “decision” is binding on those to whom it is addressed (e.g. an EU country or an individual company) and is directly applicable. For example, the Council issued a decision on allowing Croatia to adopt the euro on 1 January 2023. The decision related to the country only.

Recommendations

A “recommendation” is not binding. When the Commission issued a recommendation that EU countries’ media service providers improve their ownership transparency and safeguard their editorial independence, this did not have any legal consequences. A recommendation allows the institutions to make their views known and to suggest a line of action without imposing any legal obligation on those to whom it is addressed.

Opinions

An “opinion” is an instrument that allows the institutions to make a statement in a non-binding fashion, in other words without imposing any legal obligation on those to whom it is addressed. An opinion is not binding. It can be issued by the main EU institutions (Commission, Council, Parliament), the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee. While laws are being made, the committees give opinions from their specific regional or economic and social viewpoint. For example, the European Economic and Social Committee issued an opinion on the Commission’s Next GenerationEU’s small and medium-sized enterprises strategy.

9. What are the general rules and stages of the enlargement and membership process?

In December 2002, the European Council invited 12 countries to join the EU. European countries which, for decades, had not enjoyed democratic freedom were finally able to rejoin the family of democratic European nations. Thus the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia became EU members in 2004, together with the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and Malta. Bulgaria and Romania followed in 2007. Croatia joined in 2013.

European integration is a political and economic process, open to all European countries that are prepared to sign up to the treaties and take on board the full body of EU law. According to the Treaty of Lisbon (Article 49), any European state may apply to become a member of the EU provided it respects the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.

In 1993, the European Council laid down three criteria (‘Copenhagen criteria’) that each country should fulfil in order to become a member. By the time they join, new members must have:

• stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;

• a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union;

• the ability to take on the obligations of membership, including support for the aims of the Union — they must have a public administration capable of applying and managing EU laws in practice.

Membership talks (‘accession negotiations’) take place between the candidate country and the European Commission, which represents the EU. Once these are concluded, the decision to allow this country to join the EU must be taken unanimously by the existing Member States meeting in the Council. The European Parliament must also approve with an absolute majority vote. The accession treaty must then be ratified by the Member States and the candidate country, each in accordance with its own constitutional procedure.

During the negotiation period, candidate countries normally receive ‘pre-accession’ financial aid from the EU to help them catch up economically. They also usually have ‘stabilisation and association agreements’ with the EU. Under these agreements, the EU directly monitors the economic and administrative reforms the candidate countries have to carry out in order to meet the conditions for EU membership.

Learn more about the EU membership path for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia here.

10. EU foreign policy priorities: cooperation with the Eastern Partnership (EaP), Western Balkans and Southern Neighbourhood

Launched in 2004, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) governs the EU’s relations with 16 of the EU’s closest Eastern and Southern Neighbours (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine in the east, and Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the occupied Palestinian territory, Syria and Tunisia in the south).

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a specific Eastern dimension to the ENP that was launched in 2009 with the aim to strenghten and deepen the political and economic relations between the EU, its Member States and the six Eastern European and South Caucasus ‘partner countries’.

The EaP supports the delivery of many global policy objectives, including the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the UN 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. It contributes to the overall goal of increasing the stability, prosperity, and resilience of the EU’s neighbours as set out in the Global Strategy for the foreign and security policy of the European Union.

In the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine formally applied for EU membership in 2022, with the EU granting candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova that same year and to Georgia in 2023. Ukraine and Moldova opened accession negotiations in 2024.

The countries of the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia) are part of Europe, geographically surrounded by EU Member States. The EU has long been strongly engaged in the region, and since 2003 has supported the future of the region as an integral part of the EU. Since then, the European perspective of the region has helped the countries to achieve overall political and economic reforms with improved democratic processes. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia have all been officially granted candidate status, while Kosovo is considered a potential candidate by the European Union.

Türkiye is an EU candidate country since 1999.

Learn more about the Eastern Partnership, the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood, the EU and the Western Balkans, and about EU Enlargement.

11. What are the functions and responsibilities of the Commissioner for Enlargement?

The Commissioner for Enlargement is responsible for driving the enlargement process in the coming critical years, building on the recent renewed momentum and developing the EU’s relations with countries in the region.

Some of the Commissioner’s responsibilities, working with the High Representative/Vice-President, and supported by the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, encompass:

• Working with countries with an EU perspective to prepare them for accession, supporting the structural reforms needed and ensuring the process is coupled with sustained political commitment.

• Working on the gradual integration of candidate countries as they work to

join the Union, with a particular emphasis on the rule of law and fundamental values.

• Leading the Commission’s continued support of Ukraine, and ensuring that Ukraine’s

accession and reconstruction paths are fully integrated.

• Encouraging regional integration, good neighbourly relations, reconciliation, and the resolution of bilateral disputes.

• Developing a coordinated approach to supporting the countries of the Southern Caucasus, including on regional connectivity.

• Working on a Black Sea Strategy bringing the EU’s policies and actions together in a

coherent strategy.

• Ensuring that the benefits of enlargement are clearly communicated to EU

citizens and stakeholders, and to the citizens of enlargement partners.

12. Where can you find information about the EU events agenda, and how can you receive accreditation?

European Council and Council of the EU

Journalists, photographers and TV crews need accreditation to enter the Council press zones. Media accreditation is granted exclusively to members of the press working for bona fide media organisations.

Requests are reviewed by the Council press office following criteria defined together with the International Press Association (API).

Requests for the one-year badge are also subject to a security verification. Information submitted will therefore be used by the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union (GSC) and sent to one or more National Security Authorities.

Journalists applying for media accreditation to the European Council must fulfil certain criteria. They must be an employee of a bona fide media organisation or a freelance journalist who regularly covers EU affairs for a bona fide media organisation, with journalism as their main source of income.

Learn more about accreditation rules here.

Media representatives wishing to cover EU summits are required to register once accreditation opens, typically six weeks before the summit, and ensure they complete the process before the deadline.

To receive updates about accreditation to upcoming events, you can subscribe to the Council’s X account and to press alerts.

European Parliament

Journalists, photographers and audiovisual teams who work for bona fide media organisations, and who are not holders of the joint EU-Institutional media badge, must apply for media accreditation in order to get access to the European Parliament premises.

You can find more information about the different types of media accreditation at this link.

Sign up for email updates on the EP agenda.

Check the EP press tool kit, which includes an overview of the European Parliament’s composition and powers, political priorities, completed and ongoing work, background material, graphics, public opinion data, as well as useful contacts.

It is designed to help journalists covering Parliament’s activities to quickly find relevant, up-to-date information and easily navigate the Parliament’s websites.

European Commission

You can follow the news and events of the European Commision and subscribe to notifications for press releases.

You can also subscribe to notifications sent by the European Commission’s spokespersons by sending an email to comm-spokespersons@ec.europa.eu

Journalists, photographers and TV crews need accreditation to enter the European Commission, Parliament and Council press zones. You can check the types of accreditation here.

EEAS

Sign up to the EEAS newsletter and stay tuned about latest news and events.

Follow EEAS on social media:

https://twitter.com/eu_eeas

https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanExternalActionService

https://www.instagram.com/eudiplomacy

https://www.linkedin.com/company/european-external-action-service

https://www.youtube.com/user/EUExternalAction

Follow the EUvsDisinfo website

EUvsDisinfo is the flagship project of the European External Action Service’s East StratCom Task Force to better forecast, address, and counter pro-Kremlin disinformation campaigns. EUvsDisinfo’s core objective is to increase public awareness and understanding of disinformation operations, and to help citizens in Europe and beyond develop resistance to digital information and media manipulation.

Also social media:

https://www.facebook.com/EUvsDisinfo

https://twitter.com/EUvsDisinfo

https://www.linkedin.com/company/euvsdisinfo

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAiQd5dj168VcYa6Nly_jIw/featured

https://www.instagram.com/EUvsDisinfo

https://www.threads.net/@euvsdisinfo

13. Where can you find official audiovisual materials of the EU institutions?

European Council and Council of the EU

Video and photo archives are available at this link, and you can download live streams here. When using these materials, please use the copyright @European Union.

Broadcast-quality audiovisual content is also available via satellite on EbS and EbS+, the TV information service of the European Institutions. It offers vast opportunities for free downloading of photo, audio, and video materials.

The use of materials is free of charge. However, when using them, it is mandatory to credit the source. Some materials cannot be edited; they must be shown in full, or permission must be sought from the Central Audiovisual Library to edit the file. For more details, see the Copyright section.

EbS video offers coverage of the activities of the European Commission, European Parliament, European Council, Council of the EU, European Central Bank, etc., as well as live broadcasts of press conferences, institutional briefings, plenary sessions of the Parliament, and meetings of the European Council.

You can find on the website raw video footage, news clips, and press releases in video format. There are also videos of visits by EU officials to EaP countries, which can be used by national TV channels, with online streaming of current programmes for seven days from the broadcast date.

You can download high-quality video files (MPEG2) and audio files (MP3) from the website.

European Parliament

The European Parliament offers audiovisual services and facilities to media professionals, free of charge. To find out more, you can contact one of the audiovisual press officers.

The Multimedia Centre of the European Parliament offers high-quality ready-to-use videos and photos, which are free to download. The full range of raw and edited material produced by the EP is stored permanently by the MMC, the EP’s audiovisual repository consisting of a mix of live and past events, news, illustrative infoclips and stockshots, and archive material. The Media Library colleagues can help you to find video footage in the MMC or archive material.

In the streaming section of the MMC, you can view the EP’s daily schedule of planned coverage (plenary and committee meetings) and download customised and trimmed clips from live broadcasts. Embed codes are available on request.

For more information please consult the Press Toolkit on the Audiovisual webpage.

The European Parliament welcomes journalists who want to use the broadcast and multimedia facilities in Strasbourg and Brussels.

The EP provides customisable broadcast studios, multimedia round-table sets, radio studios, broadcast or multimedia stand-up positions, and camera crews. These extensive and varied services, fully staffed and equipped, must be booked in advance. Working spaces for audiovisual media, such as unequipped stand-up positions at high-profile locations in the EP, can also be booked for selected timeslots or for the entire day. All the EP’s facilities are available to journalists free of charge.

Find out more about the audiovisual services by checking the online brochure.

The EP photo library contains more than 600,000 images grouped in 42,000 photosets from the beginning of the European project until today. The EP’s professional photographers can also offer tailor-made quality pictures to match specific requests. The public can download photos from the Multimedia Centre free of charge. Upon request, the Photo Service can help you find the photo you need. Photos on this website can be downloaded free of charge by anyone, be it journalists, students or the wider public. Identification of origin (© European Union – YYYY) is mandatory.

Short photo shootings are also available for journalists interviewing MEPs and internal services covering institutional activities. These requests should be submitted 48 hours in advance, except ahead of the plenary sessions when the deadline is fixed on Friday at noon (photobookings@europarl.europa.eu ). The capacity of the photo service to respond to these additional requests is limited to the availability of staff.

The audiovisual archives offer thousands of hours’ worth of video footage, audio recordings and photos, documenting the history of Europe from the first steps of the Common Market to the present day. Video material is offered free of charge. Identification of origin (© European Union – YYYY) is mandatory.

European Commission

The photo archive of the European Commission includes photo coverage of personalities and events, from the official portrait of the President and her College to daily EU-related news images, as well as illustration photos on EU-related subjects. The who’s who section provides a photo gallery of EU leaders. You can find all the materials here.

Unless otherwise indicated in individual copyright notices, and/or in cases where none of the specified restrictions and/or specific cases apply, the content owned by the European Commission on this website is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. This allows for reuse, provided that appropriate credit is given and any modifications are clearly indicated.

Users are requested to refer to the credit which accompanies each individual file. Where nothing else is indicated, please quote the following copyright: 

© European Union, 2025, CC BY 4.0 

EEAS

EU-related videos and photos from all around the world can be found in this media gallery. Use the filter or search by keywords to refine your search.

14. How to approach EU institutions and officials with media requests

European Council and Council of the EU

The press office of the Council of the EU provides the media with accurate, timely and objective information on the activities of the Council, the European Council and the Eurogroup, as well as on EU policies in the making.

Spokespeople and press officers of the Council often speak on the condition of anonymity. In journalistic materials, they are referred to as “EU sources” or “EU officials,” but their names or positions are not disclosed. However, sometimes spokespeople can provide comments “on the record” (with the possibility of being quoted), if this is agreed upon.

You can find the press contacts by this link.

European Parliament

The European Parliament’s Press Service provides journalists with factual and neutral information on Parliament’s activities, as well as providing practical and technical assistance. EP press officers are available to inform media professionals about legislative dossiers on the Parliament’s agenda and about the audiovisual support and contacts available to them.

The Spokesperson’s Unit answers queries from media not directly related to the European Parliament’s legislative work and responds to disinformation attempts concerning Parliament. The Spokesperson’s Unit is led by Delphine Colard, who is also Acting Spokesperson for the  European Parliament.

If you are looking for detailed information on parliamentary activities, a specific topic or committee, below is a list of Brussels based press officers who can help with your query. Information on which policy areas and country specific issues they cover is provided next to their names.

All political groups have a press service as well as the President of the European Parliament.

Comments from Members of Parliament, members of its committees, as well as representatives of European Parliament delegations cannot be considered the official position of the European Union on the relevant issues.

European Commission

Journalists can contact spokespeople and press officers of the European Commission as well as press officers in national EC representations (EU Delegations).

The Spokesperson’s Service (SPP) is the official voice of the European Commission vis-à-vis the media. It organises press conferences, briefings and is the main point of contact for media organisations.

Spokespeople can make official statements or provide comments that reflect the position of the European Commission on various issues. The European Commission’s press service is headed by the Chief Spokesperson, who has the authority to speak on behalf of the Commission as an institution and on behalf of its President. Only Commissioners, Directors-General, and spokespeople have the right to officially provide comments to the press on behalf of the European Commission.

EEAS

The EEAS press team is the key contact point for journalists interested in the European Union’s foreign affairs and security policy. They provide information about policy priorities, proposals and decisions to the press, organise press events and issue press material and statements.

15. What are the rules of ‘off the record’, ‘on the record’ or ‘background briefing’?

‘On the record’ means that any information shared can be quoted, published, and attributed to the person speaking. The speaker’s name and their statements are fully public, and the media or recipients can use them freely in any report or discussion.

Information given ‘off the record’ cannot be published, quoted, or attributed to the person providing it. It’s meant to provide context or to help the journalist understand a situation, but should not be directly used in reporting. The speaker’s identity and words are confidential.

In a background briefing, the information shared can be used by the media, but it typically cannot be attributed to the specific individual by name. Instead, the information is attributed more generally (e.g., “a senior official” or “a person familiar with the matter”). The intent is to provide context without revealing the source directly.

15. How does the EU work for its citizens?

EU institutions and bodies are working to deliver tangible results for their citizens, such as:

-Food anywhere in the EU meets very strict safety requirements – in fact among the strictest worldwide. Citizens have access to high food and drinking water standards.

-When people buy goods or services, be it online or in a shop,  they can benefit from clear rules that protect them as a consumer.

-The CE marking certifies that goods are safe.  For example, this EU standard guarantees that chemicals that could cause cancer or heavy elements like mercury are not allowed in the accessible parts of toys beyond strict limits. 

-EU citizens are protected by the strongest privacy and security law in the world when you are on the web.

-Many animals and birds are protected by law, and so are their habitats. Measures agreed at EU level help to safeguard nature and its biodiversity.

-EU countries also have strict measures in place to ensure that air quality meets high standards. 

 -EU citizens can call 112 free of charge from any fixed or mobile phone to call for an ambulance and emergency assistance.

-EU citizens are entitled to the same medical treatment across all EU countries thanks to the European health insurance card.

– EU citizens are entitled to work — for an employer or as a self-employed person — anywhere in the EU without a work permit. 

-Business traders may sell their products throughout the entire EU market at no extra cost and with no limits as to quantity, as long as they meet EU standard requirements.

-The euro has been the single currency in many EU countries for 25 years. It makes iteasier to buy goods and services across all euro countries. 

-Payments in euros between banks in different countries cost the same as domestic payments. 

-EU law protects bank savings. If the bank fails, the account holder can get up to 100,000 euros of lost savings reimbursed, and get it within just seven days. 

-EU nationals have the right to travel freely in the 27 EU countries carrying a valid passport or a national identity card. 

Learn how the EU works for the citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.