Euronews says it has ‘every guarantee of editorial independence’ after buyout by Hungary-linked company

Euronews’ CEO has assured that Alpac Capital’s acquisition of 88% of the company’s capital does not compromise its “editorial independence”, after indirect links from one of the Portuguese fund’s partners to Hungary’s prime minister raised doubts.

Portuguese fund Alpac Capital is controlled by Pedro Vargas David, son of former MEP Mário David, who is a political advisor to Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán, as well as by Luís Santos, son of Portuguese footballer Fernando Santos.

When asked about Alpac Capital’s links to Hungary, Euronews CEO Michael Peters said that although Pedro Vargas David has “financial connections” to Hungary, he is “100% certain that his financial projects will never interfere with Euronews,” Politico Europe advanced. “I have every guarantee of editorial independence,” Peters concluded.

The Euronews CEO’s conviction was backed by several Euronews employees, who told the paper they were confident that the new owner will not interfere with editorial independence after the deal is completed next year.

For its part, a spokesman for Alpac Capital reacted to the independence doubts, saying that “any concerns of possible impact on Euronews’ editorial freedom are unfounded.”

“We have decided to invest in Euronews because we believe in its tremendous potential and consider it to be an undervalued asset,” he concluded.