VII CONGRESS OF EDITORS, EDITORED: EUROPE AND LATIN AMERICA, AN ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE FOR THE FUTURE OF COMMUNICATION​

By Alberto Barciela, vice-president of EditoRed and director of the VII Congress of Media Editors of Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean

Europe is a short word, immense in its meaning, as a continent. Old, it is an adjective that has been manipulated, dispossessed, in its frankness, in reality it means experience, History, past, and that weighs, conditions, like age, or sentences. The Union acquires these meanings, to liberate political understanding, true economic union, to diverse, plural, democratic societies, willing to yield in order to agree and to agree in order to advance in peace, even when subjected to an illegitimate war – is it possible otherwise -, to inequalities, to mafias, to terrorism, to painful migrations. But, even so, wounded, the Lady knows from her long experience, and takes care of her 27 offspring who grow in welfare and share it in solidarity, in essence in a fair, equitable way, restoring inequalities as much as possible and almost in the impossible. Perhaps the best example for Ibero-America.

After four days of meetings, two in Madrid and two in Brussels, 50 Latin American and European publishers had the opportunity to better understand what the EU represents, or as the manuals say, a democratic political community under the rule of law, constituted in a sui generis regime of international/supranational organization founded to promote and host the integration and common governance of the States and nations of Europe, and which today embrace a territory of 4 237 473 km² inhabited by 448 million inhabitants. They were also able to get to know, in situ, its institutions and talk with some of its most important leaders, such as the Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights and Social Democrat candidate in the next European elections, the Luxembourger Nicolas Schmit; the Spokesman of the European Parliament and Director General of Communication, Jaume Duch Guillot; Daniel Calleja, Director General of the Legal Service and, as such, advisor to the Commission, one of the key men of the machinery presided over by the German Ursula von der Leyen; as well as the Vice-Presidents of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, Lina Galvez Muñoz (S&D); the Vice-President of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Maite Pagazaurtundúa (LIBE); the Member of the European Parliament and member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Ana Collado Jiménez (EPP); Gracia Sumarivas Reyes, Spokesperson’s Unit; ambassadors to the EU or Belgium; among others.

The organizers of the VII Congress of Editors Europe Latin America, sponsored by Prestomedia, publisher among other multiple media of “Aquí Europa”, whose CEO is Yago González, and the International Association of Editors EditoRed, chaired by Jesús González Mateos, in agreement with the European institutions, wanted to make their assemblies coincide with the European summit in March, prior to the June elections on the continent, to show the importance of the elections that will decide the 720 members of the European Parliament until 2029. Their role will be decisive for the adoption of laws that affect everyone: large countries and small communities, powerful companies and small start-ups, the global and the local. And to essential issues such as: climate, security, migration, social policies, consumer rights, the economy, the rule of law, etc.

At the meetings, there was a lot of talk about EU legislative initiatives to protect media freedom and pluralism, as well as to improve the free movement of services, culminating in the political agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council on December 15, 2023 on the European Freedom of the Media Act; and on the Artificial Intelligence Act, adopted last March 13, which aims to provide developers and implementers with clear requirements and obligations regarding the specific uses of new tools, and to reduce administrative and financial burdens for businesses, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It will be followed by a broader package of policy measures to support the development of reliable AI.

The meetings, which have brought together representatives of media with a consolidated audience of 460 million people, have approved the so-called Brussels Declaration, a document in which they show their unwavering commitment to freedom of information and press, their commitment to financial sustainability and digital transformation. The document, which will be submitted by EditoRed to European and state authorities, makes a very critical analysis of the lack of regulation in many countries of the implementation of AI, advocates ethics and journalistic responsibility to combat disinformation and fake news; The report denounces the decline in advertising revenues and the fall in print subscriptions, as well as competition from digital media not related to communication, and especially from platforms, which, according to the editors, have endangered the financial sustainability of the media, intellectual property rights and information autonomy, so they demand from states and international organizations “legal protection to make investments profitable, ensure the respect and legal income of workers, and independence, while helping to develop strategies for transition to next-generation digital formats that maintain the quality and credibility of the news, the competitiveness of the media, and allow the exploration of sustainable business models in the digital environment.

ABOUT THE CONGRESS

The VII Congress of Media Editors of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean is an event organized by Grupo Prestomedia with the support of EditoRed, the European Commission and the European Parliament, Telefónica, Iberia and the Community of Madrid, as well as the collaboration of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Turismo de Galicia and Casa de América, and with Prensamedia as editorial partner.

This year, the general theme of the Congress was: “The quality of information and the credibility of the media, guarantees for democracy”. The meeting took place on March 18-19, 2024 in Madrid, Spain, and on March 20-21 in Brussels, Belgium.

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