EUCOmaxxing: Influencers to be invited to EU summits

BRUSSELS — Next time you’re doomscrolling on TikTok or Insta, you might come across influencers spilling the tea on ministerial policy discussions or what leaders are having for dinner during their summits. European diplomats attending the working party on information last week were left, well, shooketh when officials from the Council of the EU suggested countries invite social media influencers to cover meetings of the bloc’s ministers and leaders. Six diplomats and officials told POLITICO that the Council had floated a pilot scheme that would see influencers invited to EU leaders’ summits in Brussels as well as certain ministerial meetings. A Council official confirmed that the project, which will kick off in July, would allow the institution to “engage with content creators to reach new audiences to inform about Council activities.” It comes as far-right EU figures, including France’s Jordan Bardella, have amassed huge followings on social media. The influencers would be granted access to areas of the Council’s Brussels HQ that are currently open only to journalists accredited with the EU institutions — though they would be banned from asking ministers and leaders questions. “Content creators will be accompanied at all times and will not be treated as media,” the Council official continued. “We are working on the basis of about 10 content creators per event max, accompanied by Council staff.” “They are thinking to give influencers some sort of access to the building, in the press room and doorstep area, but, and this was emphasized, they will not be allowed to ask questions,” said one diplomat who attended last week’s working party. The diplomats and officials were granted anonymity as they are not authorized to speak on the record. The officials offered few details about the project, the diplomat said, surmising that the idea was to show off the Council’s work to the European public. (TikTokers might call it aura farming.) The reaction from EU government officials in last week’s meeting was “lukewarm,” the diplomat added. “It was a lot like the classic dynamic where the boomer in the room thinks he is pitching a very novel and interesting idea and the others more or less kill it with questions.” “I don’t see the added value,” an EU official said. “I do not see how a TikToker will understand what EUCO is about.” Perhaps they’ll do a video on “unboxing the EUCO conclusions,” they suggested, referring to the popular video format. But not everyone was immediately put off by the idea. And it will be up to EU countries to decide which creators are allowed in, according to one diplomat from a country backing the plan. Nor is the Council the first to propose working with influencers. The European Commission has opened the door to them, with President Ursula von der Leyen repeatedly sitting down with influencers and inviting them to her State of the Union address last year. The EU executive also sent out influencer kits as part of a recent campaign. In the European Parliament, Cypriot influencer Fidias Panayiotou won a seat in the 2024 election and has been producing content about his work ever since. The pivot to influencer content has drawn criticism from representatives of traditional media, however. “Clicks, views and impressions are great on TikTok and Instagram. But the basic fact remains: influencers in press conferences and at summits will not have to disclose who pays them,” the International Press Association, which represents reporters covering European institutions, said in a statement. “By contrast, EU-accredited journalists are not expected to accept payment in return for writing nice stories. It’s sort of called journalistic ethics.” Gerardo Fortuna contributed to this report.