European Alliance of News Agencies should avoid political approaches: Anadolu chief

By Askin Kiyagan

VIENNA (AA) – Anadolu’s President and CEO Serdar Karagoz on Thursday criticized the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) for not working on the problems faced by news agencies and advised the organization to avoid political approaches.

Karagoz attended the EANA extraordinary General Assembly meeting hosted by the Austria Press Agency (APA) in the Austrian capital Vienna.

He said a vote was held to amend the EANA charter at the General Assembly, but "we, as Anadolu, opposed this charter amendment, which could pave the way for the Alliance to turn into a political player."

Emphasizing that the charter amendment would not provide any benefit, Karagoz said: "I invite EANA to stay away from political approaches.”

“They were aiming to terminate the membership of some members by amending the charter,” he said. “We said this charter should not change, and it has not changed due to the vote."

Karagoz said Anadolu expects the organization to work more efficiently and effectively, and it is important to take some steps for solidarity.

"We are not working on the problems of news agencies,” he lamented.

EANA, of which Anadolu is one of the founding members, was established in 1956 as a platform for sharing information and experience as well as cooperation between European news agencies.