European Alliance of News Agencies elects new President, new Board member, admits Latvia’s LETA as 33rd full member agency

Athens, September 26, 2025 – The European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA), meeting at its General Assembly in Athens, Greece, has elected Stefano De Alessandri, CEO of ANSA (Italy), as its new President for two years. De Alessandri succeeds Fabrice Fries, President of AFP (France), whose two-year mandate as President has concluded.

The Assembly also elected Aimilios Perdikaris, Chairman of the Board of the Athens–Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA, Greece), as a new member of the EANA Board for a mandate of three years.

In a further milestone, the General Assembly of EANA voted to admit LETA, the national news agency of Latvia, as the newest member of EANA. LETA was represented at the Assembly by its CEO, Juris Mendziņš. With the admission of LETA, EANA now unites 33 member agencies across Europe.

"I am honored to contribute my expertise to EANA, as I believe that collaboration among agencies is essential to addressing the complexity of today’s information landscape. It is with sincere appreciation that I take on the role of President following Fabrice Fries, who has done an outstanding job over the past two years.", said Stefano De Alessandri. 

“I am deeply grateful to all of my colleagues in EANA for their decision to elect me to the Board. This is not only a personal honor, but also a vote of confidence in AMNA and Greece. At a time when news agencies are facing major challenges, such as the use of AI, but also serious risks from disinformation, fake news and deep fakes, the need to maintain their credibility is more important than ever. I look forward to working with Patrick Lacroix and Claudia Nicolae, the members of the EANA Board, our Secretary General, Alexandru Giboi and, of course, our new President, Stefano De Alessandri, with the aim of strengthening collaboration among European public and independent news agencies and ensuring that we can meet these challenges, as well as serving the duty of truth that we hold. Thus, we remain the most reliable and independent source of information for our societies.”, said Aimilios Perdikaris. 

“It is our honor and pleasure to become a full member of the European news agencies community. Coming from a small country with a limited domestic market, we are confident that an international network of relationships and friendships—which may lead to cooperative projects—is essential for future development. We hope to be a reliable partner and make a valuable contribution to the overall pool of knowledge, ideas, and visions.”, said LETA’s CEO, Juris Mendzins. 

“I am proud to welcome LETA into our Alliance, reinforcing EANA’s mission to unite and secure a great future for Europe’s leading news agencies, in defense of quality journalism, trust, and media innovation. My congratulations go out to Stefano De Alessandri, the new President, and to Aimilios Perdikaris, the new member of the Board of EANA. Looking forward to working together, alongside current members Claudia Nicolae and Patrick Lacroix.” said Alexandru Ion Giboi, Secretary General of EANA.

The EANA General Assembly also confirmed the continuation of the EANA Committees: the Copyright Committee led by Peter Kropsch (CEO of dpa), the Public News Agencies Committee led by Pawel Kostreva (PAP), the Business Development Committee led by Emilly Shelley (CEO of PA Media), the AI Committee led by Elmir Huremovic (FENA), the Diversity & Inclusion Committee led by Sophia Papadopoulou (ANA-MPA), the Future of News Agencies Committee led by Joaquim Carreira (CEO of LUSA) and the Anti-Disinformation Committee led by Serhiy Cherevatyi (Director general of Ukrinform). 

Media Contact:

Alexandru Ion Giboi

Secretary General, EANA

E-mail: secretarygeneral@newsalliance.org

Website: www.newsalliance.org