European Federation of Journalists

Poland: Persistent obstruction of Ukrainian journalists’ work 

Since the beginning of 2024, Ukrainian journalists investigating Poland’s economic ties with Russia and Belarus have faced deliberate obstruction of their activities by Polish law enforcement officers. From vehicle searches to confiscation of equipment, leading to arrests and deportations, the work of the Ukrainian journalists from online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda and Rayon.in.ua have been seriously unhindered.  The International and the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) urge the Polish authorities to conduct an independent and thorough investigation into these serious attacks on journalists and to reconsider their deportation from the territory. On 27 February, journalist Mykhailo Tkach, working from news portal Ukrainska…

Poland: we demand a fair trial for journalist Pablo González, in pre-trial detention for two years

Spanish freelance reporter Pablo González is the only journalist imprisoned in an EU member state. On 28 February, it will be two years since he was arrested and held in pre-trial detention in Poland without any evidence of the allegations against him being made public and no trial in sight. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ), together with their Spanish affiliates, urge the Polish authorities to release him, so that he can defend himself in court, and ensure that he receives a fair trial. A Polish court extended González’s pre-trial detention for the eighth time on 15 February…

Poland: MFRR reasserts recommendations for democratic reform for press freedom and public media

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the undersigned partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today renew their call for democratic and comprehensive reform to Poland’s public broadcasters which creates systematic safeguards to limit the ability of all governments, future and present, to meddle in editorial or institutional independence of the country’s public media. The MFRR coalition also reaffirms the set of recommendations for steps that can be taken by the new coalition government to improve the wider situation for media freedom and independent journalism in Poland. These recommendations were jointly developed following a recent mission of…

Poland: the government put public service media in a state of liquidation

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) are concerned about the political battle between the majority and opposition parties in Poland over the control of public service media. The EFJ and IFJ reiterate their call on political decision-makers to carry out reforms of public service media while respecting their editorial independence and maintaining the financial, human and technical resources necessary to guarantee the quality, independence and pluralism of these media. On Wednesday, following the decision of the President of the Republic, Andrzej Duda, an ally of the previous conservative government, to suspend funding for public media, the new Polish Minister…

Poland: EFJ and IFJ condemn continued political interference in public broadcasting

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federations of Journalists (IFJ) condemn the repeated interference of political parties from all sides in the management of public broadcasting in Poland. On Saturday, Polish President Andrzej Duda, an ally of Poland’s former ruling populists, said he would veto state media subsidies proposed in a budget-related bill as part of a row over the government’s reform of state media. The veto will escalate a growing stand-off between Duda and the new pro-EU government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The IFJ and EFJ call on political decision-makers to refrain from direct political…

Report: Media freedom at a crossroads – Journalism in Poland faces uncertain future ahead of election

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners organised a mission in Poland to assess the challenges that Polish media face ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled on 15 October 2023. The main findings and a set of recommendations are included in a newly published report. This report explores how media capture and the widespread use of vexatious lawsuits have been used to create a hostile climate for independent journalism that weakens media’s ability to contribute to free and fair elections. Key findings include: The public media have been fully converted into a propaganda arm of the ruling party. The National…

Poland: Polish media grapple with unprecedented challenges and uncertain future as the country faces electoral crossroads

At the conclusion of their press freedom mission to Warsaw from 11-13 September, partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) declared that the media and journalists in Poland are facing unprecedented challenges including legal threats, financial precarity, political pressure, regulatory capture and growing polarisation. The delegation, comprised of representatives of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and International Press Institute (IPI), met with editors, journalists, regulators, civil society groups, lawyers, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ministry of…

Poland: MFRR to visit Warsaw for press freedom mission

Partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) will travel to Warsaw on 11-13 September 2023 to conduct an international press freedom mission ahead of the country’s upcoming general election on 15 October. The MFRR mission will be joined by representatives of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the International Press Institute (IPI), ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and Free Press Unlimited (FPU). Mogens Blicher Bjerregård will join the mission on behalf of the EFJ. The delegation will assess the current state of play for media freedom and pluralism and identify the…

Poland: A new report examines the PKN Orlen takeover of Polska Press

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium today in warning that the findings of a new report assessing the impact of the takeover of regional news publisher Polska Press by Poland’s state-controlled oil company PKN Orlen illustrate a shocking example of media capture in the EU.  The report by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Poland concludes that the takeover and subsequent editorial purge at Polska Press by Orlen in December 2020 has negatively affected journalists freedoms and led to a shift in editorial lines favourable to the ruling…