New portal to translate EU dailies into 10 languages

A new website launched Tuesday (26 May) aims to get EU citizens across the 27 member states talking and reading about the same issues, something that to date has been hindered by language barriers. With EUR 3m of European Commission funds a year and a team of 10 journalists, www.presseurop.eu is part of the EU’s drive to create a ‘European public sphere.’

The portal aims to monitor around 250 titles both within and outside Europe, including all of the big national dailies, such as France’s Le Figaro, Spain’s El Pais and the UK’s Financial Times, and put a selection of articles concerning Europe from these papers on the site. The site will be available in 10 languages with all 23 of the EU’s official languages expected to be onboard within five year’s time.

The set-up is led by Courrier International, along with Internazionale in Italy, Forum Polityka in Poland and Courrier Internacional in Portugal. EU communications commissioner Margot Wallstrom, who promised the site will be editorially independent, said it will ‘broaden, enrich and expand coverage of European affairs.’

Its organisers are hoping to have 1.5 million visitors a month across the ten sites by the end of 2010. The EU set up a similar platform for radio in 2007 and will launch a TV version next year.

Source: EU Observer EJC Media News