European News Agencies Association suspends Russia's TASS

By Talha Ozturk and Lejla Biogradlija

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) – The European News Agencies Association (EANA) on Friday said it suspended the membership of TASS, a major Russian state-owned news agency.

The decision, initially taken late February when Russia's war on Ukraine started, was endorsed at the EANA General Assembly and Spring Conference in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In its official statement at the time, the association said the move was due to a "new regulation enforced by the Russian government which is heavily restricting media freedom."

"The Board of EANA considers that TASS finds itself in violation of the purpose of EANA ... not being able to provide unbiased news, which stand at the core of EANA's mission statement."

Anadolu Agency's Director-General Serdar Karagoz also attended the three-day meeting, which started on Wednesday.

On TASS' suspension, Karagoz said the draft resolution on the ban of the Russian news agency from EANA was not accepted as it did not receive enough votes.

He said such exclusionary approaches would not contribute to the targeted result in matters that should be evaluated as part of media freedom.

While there are said to have been unofficial advisories on not to use the words "assault, invasion, or declaration of war," Russia's parliament also passed a law imposing a jail term of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally "fake" news about the military.

"We have been in contact with Ukraine since the beginning of the war. The membership of TASS has been suspended and the conditions for returning will be difficult," said EANA Secretary General Alexandru Ion Giboi. "We want the war to end as soon as possible."

EANA President Clemens Pig said the world has seen a lot of disinformation, especially in the last two years, and the summit discussed ways to counter it.

Some news agencies have formed dedicated teams to fact-check information, he said, adding that "news agencies should work in unity" and stand in solidarity with Ukraine.

With a network of over 30 national news agencies, EANA serves as a forum for cooperation and exchange of information and experiences among its members.