The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European group of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), representing over 250,000 members in 30 European countries, today expressed concern about the proposed engagement of a consulting firm, headed by a former collaborator of President Sarkozy, to work on behalf of Agence France Presse (AFP).

"We are concerned because this 'mission' aims to remove the guarantees of AFP independence and revise the composition of its board of directors," said EFJ President, Arne König.

"Moreover, we denounce the political opportunism of using the European Commission's investigation into a complaint of 'state aid' against the AFP as an excuse to force through privatization of the news agency," added König.

The mission is expected to ‘build AFP's European profile and networks' by organizing ‘meetings in Brussels with the Director General for Competition and developing networks with the public relations services of other European Commission departments and the European Parliament" as part of  AFP's lobbying response to the complaint filed by the German news agency, DAPD.

According to media reports, AFP CEO, Emmanuel Hoog, plans to use the services of the consulting firm MEDIA9, created and directed by Pierre-Jerome Henin, a former spokesman of the UMP, the political party of Mr Sarkozy.

Despite denials by Hoog six days after the revelations about MEDIA9 were published by Le Canard enchaîné that any decision had been reached, the EFJ condemns efforts to transform AFP into the official information service of a political clan, a few months ahead of major elections in France in 2012.

AFP is a leading press agency in Europe and across the world. Its independence is of crucial importance not only the journalists it employs, but for journalists and media which use its material, and for the general public who rely on its credibility.

The EFJ is also surprised by the European Commission's silence on the complaint made by DAPD against the AFP. The French photo agency, SIPA, recently came under the control of the German DAPD after dismissing 34 of its 92 employees including 16 of 24 photojournalists. DAPD was founded in 2010 from the merger of the ‘Deutscher Depeschendienst' and the German subsidiary of Associated Press. It is currently the second largest German news agency.

In view of this attack against the AFP and its employees, the EFJ appeals "to all French unions to call for an immediate end to any agreement between AFP and MEDIA9 and to express their reservations about the independence of the current AFP leadership".

EFJ members in France are the Syndicat national des journalistes (SNJ), the Syndicat national des journalistes SNJ-CGT and the journalists' section of the CFDT union.

Messages of support to the unions can be sent to snj@cgt.fr and snj@snj.fr

For more information, please contact EFJ on + 32 2 235 22 00
The EFJ represents more than 250.000 members in over 30 countries