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THE EU’S COMPETITION regulators are examining whether France is providing tens of millions of euros in unfair state aid to Agence France-Presse, sparking deep concern among officials of the French news agency.
AFP Chief Executive Emmanuel Hoog said the agency was hoping to avoid the “darkest scenario,” in which it would be forced to return to the French government the portion of 10 years worth of payments deemed illegal. The French government pays the agency €111.65 million a year in subscriptions for its ministries and administrations, which the European Commission says accounts for 40 per cent of the agency’s revenue.
In a 22 August letter to France’s mission to the EU, seen today by The Associated Press, the European Commission said a preliminary evaluation found the government money “could constitute state aid,” meaning it could be incompatible with EU rules.
‘Darkest scenario’
The Commission, it said, “at this point views that possible aid to AFP would have the potential to distort competition and affect exchanges between member states.” Amelia Torres, a spokeswoman for the competition department, stressed that the investigation is in a preliminary stage.
An unfavourable decision would deal a heavy blow to AFP, the world’s third-largest news agency by revenue, which employs some 2,900 people and is active in 165 countries. The Paris-based AFP competes globally with AP and Reuters.
If the payments are deemed illegal, the European Commission “could order the immediate end to public financing … and force AFP to repay the state” for subsidies dating back 10 years, Hoog wrote to union leaders on Monday. “This would obviously be the darkest scenario for us.”
Hoog said, however, that he doesn’t expect the watchdog to make such a drastic move, saying a more likely outcome would be an order to stop future illegal payments from the state. AFP unions and management are meeting on Friday to discuss the issue, and unions are calling for a half-day strike to coincide with the meeting.
France, which is already overhauling its relationship with AFP, could also try to get subsidies to the agency approved as compensation for a public service provided by the agency, as it has successfully done with TV news channel France 24.
But EU regulators question whether France’s current subscription payments to AFP are aid in disguise, given that the agency sells similar services to other organisations for far less. In contrast to the French government’s nine-figure annual bill, AFP charges the European Union only €323,374 for a five-year subscription, the Commission noted.
The letter noted that the German government pays only €3.75 million per year for its subscription to the German news agencies dpa and dapd.
The Commission letter, which asks for more information from French authorities on their relationship with AFP and the income the agency gets from large corporate customers, follows a complaint by dapd. The German news agency, created in 2009 when the ddp news agency purchased AP’s former German service, competes with AFP in some European markets.
The Commission has sent letters to the EU’s other 26 nations to inquire about the funding of news agencies there, a person familiar with the matter told the AP. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensibility of the matter.
Other European governments make large payments to national news agencies as well.
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The Journal should just change their name to WomenGetHarrassed.ie, GuiltyTilProvedInnocent.ie or CheckOutTheRapeCulture.ie
@Unpersoned: Oh why did I say that…. sorry I take it back. Couldn’t be arsèd arguing. I’m a lover not a fighter. Can’t we all just be friends again you guys? ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Come on you know the words.Sing it with me now https://youtu.be/5DmYLrxR0Y8
@Unpersoned: boi, you’ve gone off the hook. Men are acting way too manly, and need to check their privilege to the pits of Compton. Having male banter, should be banished , but females need not be checked, free reign yo, women know no wrongs, you really think a women would make a sexist comment… Brah, please women are working hard earning their quotas, you know how much nagging you have to do for a quota? Reall talk, brah
@sam kane: Em….. word?
@Unpersoned: I’ve got beef with you , beef farmed by white males, sick and tired of the patriarchy, white males inventing new technology so I can text your sorry ass, putting up powerlines so I can charge my mulitable devises, these men need to check their privilege, big style.
Wow !
@sam kane: Wtf are you on about horse.
@Unpersoned: you’re obviously not down with the kids.
@sam kane: Is that some sort of hop hip song?
@Unpersoned: its sarcasim, mixed with black slang, mixed with humour. I’ve already had two accounts suspended, need to change my approach
@sam kane: Tell me about it ;-)
There is a certain irony in Sinn Fein as always taking the high moral ground and telling other parties off….Today is the 30th anniversary of the Enniskillen bomb…Could give the moral preaching a rest for a day or so…
@John003: there is hardly a day that there isn’t an anniversary of someone’s murder in the north, however, only a selective few make it into the news…………most families on all sides suffering in silence……………
@John003: same ol SF hypocrisy, they’ll never change.
Its getting a bit ridiculous now, in fairness.
@Eyepopper: it’s beyond ridiculous…
I’d say you’ve nothing to worry about on that front Mary Lou.
@John Arc: If Sinn Féin, or any party for that matter, feel they’re underrepresented with their number of female colleagues then that’s a matter for themselves, their constituents and the electorate. It’s up to the party to put women forward for election, and we can then vote them in to office – or not. Blaming Leo for this and calling for the usual ‘positive descrimination’ is nonsense.
If women are going to claim sexism or descrimination they must be able to illustrate it exists, saying ‘he shouted’ is not bullying if that’s the norm. Inappropriate maybe, but not bullying or singling out women for different treatment.
Male politicians abuse one another all the time, trading insults and witticisms is the norm, but when this ‘norm’ is applied to a female colleague and her party leader is asked to rein her in it’s sexism. It’s getting to the stage of the old joke where those women who feel they haven’t had sexist remarks made against them will sue for descrimination.
If you can’t stand the heat get back in the kitchen.
As bad as Westminster is, the Dail sit far fewer days than Westminster and they don’t be off 4 days a week and mid terms too like the Dail is. Also Joan and Labour aren’t credible after their treatment aof vulnerable women with their pension cuts in 2012 to women who looked after their kids and Joans militant cuts to lone parents while providing none of the Scandinavian style childcare she promised be in place first. Labour broke all their Trescothick ad lies in 2 years & introduced HAP excuse for social housing and made thousands homeless.
@Jay Lane: Tesco ad lies
@Jay Lane: I tell you what make them work and be accountable for it and cap their salaries at 65 thou before tax and they stop entertaining themselves with them stupid complaints . They have nothing to complaint about a life without problems all bills paid while they invent sh*t for us to pay out their S !
So there’s nothing, no story at all.
Hon the lads.
It’s nothing more than an EU Club
I wonder is Mary Lou regretting her heckling during the Taoiseach’s speaking time and the day, once finished using her mobile phone, she stormed across the chamber to position herself confrontationally before Leo on her exit.
If a man did that there would be uproar.
How can it be a boys club? You have to be elected by the people of Ireland to be in the Dáil. Maybe if the women elected were more competent there would be more elected. And Joan Burton was an enemy of women when in power, bit rich of her to be going on about boys clubs.
Oh ffs. There is harrassment going on everywhere. Males physically harrassing females. Females accusing males in the wrong. Everyone moves on except the innocent victim. And the victim has nowhere to turn to
@Sinead Hanley: divide and conquer Sinead
@Sinead Hanley: Victim, victim. Everyones a fookin victim.
How did Joan Burton get re-elected? And please don’t take this up as a sexist remark.
I wad wondering how long it would take before the ol gender card was going to be played, same ol whingers.
This now Worldwide nonsense about interference with women is frankly becoming boring. Women should bring allegations of criminal interference straight to the police. It should be remembered that many, many women use sexual favours to gain advancement.
It’s just Mitchell o Connor grandstanding and looking for publicity… she should shut up and do her job .
@Patrick j Brady: she’s the incompetent minster one, yeah?
Boys club.. sounds like a gay bar
@dangermouse: probably is with no Gaelic spoken
@Anthony Doyle: Gaelic is a homosexual patois. It’s derivation is ‘Gae’ (meaning “gay”) and ‘lic’ (meaning “tongue” or “language”), i.e. the language of the gays.
It’s bloody moan a minute from women. Fight back for God’s sake if someone tries to put you down. Women, stop moaning, poor defenceless mites, get up off your ass and make your own difference. When women go on like this, to me they ARE weak!!
On a separate note, I’m involved in politics for 30 years and I never saw or witnessed any barriers to women being fully involved in the political process, including being put forward for election. If you’re good enough your good enough and if you’re not, suck it up, get over it. Quotas were the worst addition to the democratic process as they demean women and will eventually lead to the election of both male and female morons, because you are forcing parties to pick either men or women so as to meet the quota with no regard as to whether they’re good
So, the sum total of Varadker contribution, when he can’t think for himself (in most debates) seems to be the Lois Griffin method. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Rm3d43HLyTI
@Father Hody Commody:
Varadkar’s superior intellect makes your so obviously partisan intervention look guite ridiculous.
Nah the Dáil is like a recess time on a schoolyard only the little boys and girls are playing with your life and making it unattainable , agile they get paid €…00000000 to do so
ah Jaysus we owe billions….. can we just concentrate on that for a while and stop all the side shows
So no sexual harassment and any comments the women dont like are sexist???
Men and women are constantly getting put down by others. It doesn’t mean its sexist. It means the person doing it is an idiot
I would ye all go sh** in your hats
Sure isn’t the Taoiseach a bit of bitch himself.
God help us…. I mean neutral supreme being help us. Does anyone want to go for a drink after work?? We can all sit at separate tables and look at our phones as long as what we are reading is gender neutral journalism. Then we can go to the unisex jacks if we need to… But that has to be only if we want to. We could go to an all male or all female jacks as long as no member of the opposite sex can observe us going so as not to humiliate us. Then we can ask Courtney and Kennedy to design a dress for men. Let’s ban the Irish Country women’s Association while we’re at it……. Does anyone know of an island for sale…?????
Let’s have a Female stand for the president position. Give us voters a real vote.
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