New European Strategies is committed to impartial and independent journalism. Accepting funds for advertising or sponsored content allows New European Strategies to expand its coverage of global events, in accordance with the Trust Principles.

The following guidelines apply to all advertisements and explain how New European Strategies protects our journalistic integrity and the trust of readers and clients when working with advertisers and sponsors:

• No advertiser relationship or advertising agreement may infringe upon New European Strategies’ strict adherence to its Trust Principles, which demand independence, integrity, and freedom from bias.
• New European Strategies editorial staff:
  • Should not create, edit, influence, or otherwise contribute to the production of client advertisements.
  • May not appear in client advertisements.
• Advertisements must be clearly distinguishable from content produced by New European Strategies’ editorial team:
  • If necessary, an advertisement should be labeled as “Advertisement” (or an equivalent designation).
• Advertisers bear full responsibility for the content of their advertisements:
• They must ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines.
• Advertisement content must not be false or misleading.
• Advertisements should not reflect the views of New European Strategies or its editorial team.
• New European Strategies reserves the right to reject or remove an advertisement if:
• The advertisement is inaccurate or misleading.
• The advertisement could harm New European Strategies’ reputation.

• The advertiser must accept New European Strategies’ advertising terms and conditions.
• Advertisers must confirm in writing that they have the right to use third-party intellectual property, such as trademarks, copyrights, graphics, music, etc., and that they have obtained all necessary consents, including the right to use a person's name, image, or likeness.
• New European Strategies’ trademarks may not be used in third-party advertisements without the prior written consent of New European Strategies.
• Advertisements must comply with all New European Strategies’ technical and creative specifications.
• New European Strategies does not accept advertisements containing images or text that promote prejudice or discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, disability, gender, age, or sexual orientation.

Sponsorship means that a third party finances, in whole or in part, New European Strategies editorial content or New European Strategies Plus materials, such as events or content on NewEuropeanStrategies.com, for the purpose of promoting the sponsor.

The following guidelines apply to content created independently by the New European Strategies editorial department but financed in whole or in part by a paying sponsor:

• Sponsorship of editorial content and events must be approved by the editor-in-chief or a person designated by them, who will decide whether the sponsorship is permissible based on the guidelines below.
• Accepting funding from sponsors to create editorially independent content can allow New European Strategies to enrich our news coverage, expand offerings for readers and clients, or explore previously covered topics in new ways or with more in-depth analysis.
• New European Strategies may accept funding from sponsors if the content would have been created even without such funding, because it is newsworthy.
• New European Strategies may agree to accept funding for content if New European Strategies editorial management, including the editor-in-chief, determines that the sponsorship agreement aligns with editorial standards and the Trust Principles.
• Sponsored content should be editorially independent and as valuable, unbiased, and credible as all other New European Strategies content. This means that:
  
  • At the beginning of a sponsorship agreement, New European Strategies and the sponsor may agree on general thematic areas for development.
  • The sponsor may suggest more specific topics to cover, but New European Strategies is not obliged to accept the sponsor's ideas and should only do so if, in the editorial discretion of New European Strategies, the topics are newsworthy and relevant to our readers.
  • New European Strategies journalists or journalists acting under the direction of New European Strategies editorial management should gather facts and information and create and edit content without the involvement or influence of the sponsor, in accordance with the same standards that apply to other New European Strategies content.
  • New European Strategies should not share content with sponsors before its publication.

The following guidelines apply to content created by New European Strategies Plus on behalf of a sponsor:

• Content created by New European Strategies Plus should be attributed to New European Strategies Plus, which should be described as the content marketing unit within New European Strategies.
• There should be no suggestion that this content is associated with or created by New European Strategies editorial staff.

The collection of personal data and the use of cookies and tracking technologies must comply with the New European Strategies Privacy Policy and the New European Strategies Cookies and Interest-Based Advertising Policy. Key principles of these policies include:

• New European Strategies and our advertisers should have a lawful basis for collecting personal data and collect only the minimum amount of data necessary to achieve specified purposes. In this context, cookie identifiers, IP addresses, and other identifiers should be treated as personal data.
• The collection or use of special categories of data (such as age, location, race, political views, etc.) must be pre-approved by the New European Strategies Privacy Team.
• New European Strategies and our advertisers should have a process in place to respond quickly to data subject requests for access to their data, data deletion, or opting out of its use or sale.

Advertisers must obtain prior written consent from New European Strategies to install cookies on users' devices or to use pixels, web beacons, or other data collection technologies. These mechanisms must be added to New European Strategies' consent management tool.

If local laws require individual user consent, such consent must be obtained in advance. Neither New European Strategies nor our advertisers may use any tools to circumvent user controls or the requirement for prior explicit consent.

Cookies, other data collection technologies, and data obtained from them may only be used by advertisers in connection with advertising. Any deviation from this rule for a specific advertiser must be included in a written agreement with the advertiser, which has been previously approved by the New European Strategies Privacy Team.

Advertisements may be sold based on keywords to appear within specific content on the New European Strategies website, but advertisers may not intentionally advertise directly next to articles about themselves.

Interest-based advertising, also known as “targeted advertising,” “personalized advertising,” and “behavioral advertising,” typically refers to personalized and/or targeted advertisements displayed based on a user's browsing history, user profiles, and other information collected by New European Strategies, our advertisers, and their partners.

Advertisers must ensure that interest-based advertising complies with New European Strategies policies (including the procedures outlined in New European Strategies' Privacy Policy and Cookies and Interest-Based Advertising Policy), as well as industry best practices.

The following guidelines define the labeling language that should be used to identify different types of advertisements on New European Strategies platforms.

• Advertisements should be clearly distinguishable from editorial content and transparent to the user.
• Advertisements should not have the same look and feel as New European Strategies news articles to avoid misleading users.
• Native advertisements should be labeled as “ADVERTISEMENT” (or an equivalent term) at the top of the ad. If additional distinction from editorial content is necessary, a border or the advertiser's logo should be added.
• New European Strategies may require a disclaimer to clearly differentiate the advertisement from editorial content.

• Content:
  • “Sponsors are not involved in the creation of this or any other New European Strategies editorial content.”
•  Events:
  • “This event was sponsored/partially sponsored by [Brand X]. It was independently produced by the New European Strategies editorial team.”
• Promotion/Use on New European Strategies Social Media:
  • “Sponsored by …”

• On the New European Strategies website:
  • No references to New European Strategies other than New European Strategies Plus.
  • Display of sponsor's logo.
  • Use of the label: “This [article/material] was prepared for [Brand Name] by New European Strategies Plus, a content marketing unit within New European Strategies.”
• Social media promotion by New European Strategies Plus:
  • “Created by New European Strategies Plus for [Brand Name].”
• On the brand's website or platform:
  • Should include a reference to New European Strategies Plus with the note:
    “This content was prepared for [Brand Name] by New European Strategies Plus, a content marketing unit within New European Strategies.” 
•  Sponsored event
  • “Prepared for [Brand Name] by New European Strategies Plus, a content marketing unit within New European Strategies.”
• Promotion or use of a sponsored event on New European Strategies Plus social media:
  • “Created by New European Strategies Plus for [Brand Name].”

The advertiser is responsible for ensuring that the advertisement complies with all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines, and industry standards, and that it is not false or misleading.

New European Strategies may accept the following categories of advertisements under specific circumstances:

New European Strategies accepts public policy advertisements, government and government agency advertisements, as well as issue advocacy advertisements, political party advertisements, or candidate advertisements. Issue advocacy, political party, and candidate advertisements must not contain false or misleading information and should not give the impression that New European Strategies is biased towards one candidate or policy. They must be clearly labeled in accordance with the rules described above in the Sponsored Content Labeling Policy.

All issue advocacy, political party, and candidate advertisements should be reviewed by the Editor for Ethics and Standards and the Head of New European Strategies Professional.

For political advertisements, whether for candidates or promoting a specific policy, all advertisements must include the name of the organization funding the advertisement, e.g., “Paid for by [organization name].”

New European Strategies accepts advertisements for betting, lotteries, or gambling, provided they are legal. The advertiser is responsible for ensuring that all advertisements comply with applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines.

New European Strategies accepts advertisements for alcoholic beverages, provided they are legal. The advertiser is responsible for ensuring that all advertisements comply with applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines.

New European Strategies accepts advertisements for prescription drugs, dietary supplements, diet programs, and other health products. The responsibility for ensuring that consumer-directed advertisements comply with applicable laws and regulations, such as FDA guidelines for direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising in the United States, rests with the advertiser.

New European Strategies may not accept the following categories of advertisements:

• • TOBACCO
    New European Strategies does not accept advertisements for tobacco brands or tobacco products.
  • FIREARMS AND OTHER WEAPONS
    New European Strategies does not accept advertisements for firearms or other weapons.
  • RELIGION
    New European Strategies does not accept advertisements from religious organizations.
  • OBSCENE OR PORNOGRAPHIC CONTENT
    New European Strategies does not accept advertisements that, in its sole discretion, contain erotic, obscene, or primarily sexual content or purpose.
• 
  New European Strategies reserves the right to reject any advertisement at its sole discretion.