This time we'll be talking about ourselves in our annual message to our readers. The most observant of you will already have noticed something new on the first page of this newsletter - Agence EUROPE's editorial structure has changed. From this morning onwards, the Editor-in-Chief is Marina Gazzo. I will continue my editorial position, remaining Responsible Editor.
The implications of this major change are clear. Marina is taking on the overwhelming responsibility for the daily creation of the newsletter, that I had taken on quite a few years ago from her father, Emanuele Gazzó. This will come as little surprise; continuity has been guaranteed. Since its foundation in 1953, Agence EUROPE has had two Editors-in-Chief and Marina will now be the third. Do we need to insist on the fact that the spirit of our newsletter has remained the same? Clearly inspired in favour of Europe, but without any indulgence towards the political leaders charting the Europe project through waters dotted with a thousand perils, as we all know - with strict respect for the facts. The experience that Marina has acquired by gradually extending her responsibility over the years to more and more sections of the newsletter means that the changeover will be very smooth. The personality and sensibilities of each Editor-in-Chief are naturally reflected in the publication, but the editorial line is unchanged and will remain so. Marina will obviously retain direct responsibility for specific areas of European affairs, starting with institutional issues.
The easing of my daily workload that will result from this will allow me to devote more time and attention to the "A look behind the news" section. I intend to make it more flexible and more frequent (in order to better mesh with current events). The formula of a weekly two-page commentary slot sometime seemed very onerous to those writing it and I can imagine it had much the same effect on the reader. We will still have such "wedges" from time to time in the future but these will be the exception rather than the rule. The almost daily appearance of the slots will enable us to create a few innovations in the section's structure and appearance.
Michel Theys is not leaving Agence EUROPE. He has extended his information activities to broadcasting and will be presenting and editing (for a Brussels TV channel) a weekly European affairs programme, opening up a new vista that other channels may decide to follow. This is both good for Europe and gratifying for him. In our Agency, he will of course continue to be in charge of the European Library, a special section of the newsletter which he has brought to its current prestige position. It will continue to appear once a week.
The Agency's core group of editors in terms of its daily information gathering and processing work remains largely unchanged. One of them, Olivier Jehin, will be taking on the position of Deputy Editor-in-Chief, working alongside Marina Gazzo in managing the "production" of the newsletter. He has only been in Brussels for two years, but had been working with us for a long time before that, particularly in Strasbourg. His familiarity with following the European Parliament's sessions has enabled him to gradually gain expertise in the full range of Community activities, moving beyond specialising in any particular sector. This was an invaluable, if not essential, preparation for his new horizontal responsibilities. The "specialised" editors, with their profound specific understanding of the different domains of Community affairs are the foundations that make our newsletter reliable and, for many readers, indispensable. Rotating competencies and a flexible approach means that they, too, have the necessary oversight. The characteristics of the news team have not changed - predominantly female (we did not need any hints or suggestions from a third party to realise what women contribute across the board to human activity); young (most of our current team of editors began their professional journalist careers with us and were "trained" by Agence EUROPE); and independent.
Our aim is clearly to make our newsletter even better and even more useful to full understanding of the European project.
Ferdinando Riccardi