Mediahuis, which includes publications such as De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad, has taken over the pan-European news site Euractiv, the media group said on Thursday.
Euractiv covers news in eight areas of the European Union: agri-food, economy, energy and environment, Europe, health, politics, technology and transport. Journalists based in Brussels, Paris and Berlin, assisted by media network partners, provide information in 13 languages.
Information on EU policy is becoming increasingly competitive, especially outside the Union. Within Mediahuis, Euractiv will be able to take advantage of the group’s international dimension and its expertise in technology. With this takeover, the Belgian company intends to become a leading European media group.
Mediahuis now has operations in Benelux, Germany and Ireland.
“European policy and its development are fundamental in today’s society and attract the curiosity of millions of Europeans. Hence the need for strong, independent and multifaceted European information,” Gert Ysebaert, CEO of Mediahuis, commented.
“Euractiv has succeeded in developing a promising media brand and has become a reliable source of information for European decision-makers, interest groups and other media,” he added.
In Belgium, Mediahuis publishes De Standaard, Het Nieuwsblad, Gazet van Antwerpen and Het Belang van Limburg newspapers, among others. The group has some 4,600 employees and an annual turnover of € 1.2 billion.
