The news agency business constitutes the very basics of news gathering and distribution. It is a business that needs a healthy environment abounding in freedom of the press, fair competition and simple and basic rules to operate. The members of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) are engaged in the promotion and the preservation of this environment. 32 leading European news agencies are currently pooling their resources to create a common platform on key issues such as copyright, tariff policy, technology and access to sources of information. This is the main force behind EANA. The organisation is powered by each of the member companies representing 32 European countries with more than 750 million inhabitants. The member agencies are first of all providers of news stories and also of pictures, graphics, radio and video reports and other information to both traditional media and new media environments created by the rapid development of modern information technology. News agencies working in accordance with the principles of press freedom and unbiased news are of major importance to the democratic society. To secure an economic and legal environment for news agencies operating in accordance with these rules is therefore one of EANA´s main concerns.