Four years ago we started on a journey to create a daily newspaper for Europe. We began with this online concept site featuring mainly aggregated news. In the summer of 2011 we published a 'preview edition' in print with content written exclusively for us to more accurately present our vision for the European Daily. We are now preparing for a full-scale launch – in print, on mobile devices and online – in 2012.

The daily newspaper is the mirror in which a society sees itself. It sets the agenda, gives common points of reference and provides a forum for debate about issues that matter to all. Reading the newspaper together with the morning coffee might seem a trivial daily routine, but it is one of the pillars of a truly vibrant and democratic society.

Over the past decades, momentous events have reshaped Europe’s political, economic and social landscape. Millions of people now live in a European country other than their own. Many Europeans regularly cross borders to work, study or simply for vacation. We share the same political institutions, often carry the same money in our pockets and, increasingly, rely on English as a common language. These are all features of our daily lives. European society is a reality, whether people feel European or not.

Yet, strangely, daily news is still largely covered from national perspectives. Events, developments and opinions are seen through national lenses and feed into separate narratives. State borders no longer prevent us from moving around the continent freely, but they still manage to isolate debates and hold back the free flow of ideas and arguments. Meanwhile, many important issues are decided at the European level, from how we run our economies to the food we eat.

Without common points of reference, Europeans talk past each other. Daily news reporting and analysis demands a European perspective. For us, that means untangling complex issues and bringing them into a wider context to show how they impact on the everyday life of Europeans, whether they live in Lisbon or Helsinki. We believe that this can be provided by a European daily newspaper.

In the end, what is currently missing is intelligent and independent journalism that gives form to Europe by analysing, debating and criticising issues from a European perspective. Providing this will be our mission, our duty and our privilege.

Read more...