The European Commission will launch a new website, PRESSEUROP.EU, with the support of a consortium coordinated by Courrier International (including Internazionale in Italy, Forum in Poland and Courrier Internacional in Portugal).

It is the first multilingual website for press articles on European affairs. The upcoming website will offer translations into as many languages as possible of a selection of the current or the previous day's articles on European affairs, supplemented by comment, analysis and illustration.

Mrs. Margot Wallstrom, vice president of the European Commission has welcomed the fact that the Commission is to support this innovative project without in any way encroaching on the consortium's editorial freedom.

Alongside EuRaNet (launched in April 2008) and EU TV Net (scheduled for 2010), PRESSEUROP is an expression of our desire to facilitate, encourage and support the establishment of a European public forum for communication, discussion and debate, said Mrs Margot.

The portal will have an interactive dimension in the form of theme-based discussion groups, on-line surveys and opportunities for commenting on the articles published.

This service will be provided initially in 10 languages (Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish) and will be gradually extended to cover the 23 EU official languages.

Various partnerships are already in the pipeline, involving in particular EuRaNet and the forthcoming EU TV Net.

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