The first half of 2026 saw a wide variety of attacks on journalists, media outlets and associated individuals across Europe. These included verbal attacks as well as physical assaults, deliberate obstruction of journalistic work, and legal actions all of which challenged or restricted independent reporting. Between January and June 2026, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) documented a total of 736 attacks on 1,174 journalists and other media professionals. By covering all EU member states as well as candidate countries, the briefing offers one of the most comprehensive overviews of media freedom conditions in Europe. Of particular concern were legislative…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in viewing the upcoming state elections in Saxony-Anhalt with great concern. On 6 September, a decision will also be made on press freedom and the future of the public service broadcaster Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR). The Alternative for Germany (AfD), classified as far-right extremist in Saxony-Anhalt, is leading in the polls. In its 100-day programme, the party promises that its ‘first official act’ in government will be the immediate termination of the Interstate Broadcasting Agreements (Rundfunkstaatsverträge). This promise threatens the very existence of public broadcaster Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk…

The following is a joint appeal by the International Advisory Council of the Journalists’ Solidarity Centers to governments, international institutions, media organizations, journalists’ unions and donors, convened by EFJ affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU).  With autumn approaching, Ukrainian journalists are preparing for a fifth winter of full-scale war. Security threats continue to evolve, while the international support sustaining essential safety infrastructure has become increasingly uncertain. The International Advisory Council of the Journalists’ Solidarity Centers — bringing together experts in press freedom, journalists’ safety, media resilience and media development and convened by the National Union of Journalists…

The European federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners today in lamenting the failure to convict the alleged mastermind in the trial for the murder of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and hope that the demoralising verdict will swiftly be overturned on appeal. On 2 September, powerful Maltese business tycoon Yorgen Fenech was cleared by a jury of any involvement in the journalist’s 2017 car-bomb assassination, leaving the case in a state of partial impunity. The jury in the Maltese capital Valletta reached its decision on the first day after just eight hours of…

One of Malta’s richest men, Yorgen Fenech, has been found not guilty of involvement in the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. On 2 September, nearly nine years after her death in a car bombing in October 2017, a jury of six women and three men found Yorgen Fenech, 44, not guilty of both counts with which he had been charged: complicity in the voluntary homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and association with the intention of committing a crime. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns the failure of the Maltese judiciary and authorities to convict the mastermind in…

On 27 August 2026, the mother of the journalist Ulviyya Guliyeva (also known as Ulviyya Ali), raised concerns for her daughter’s safety being held at Baku Pretrial Detention Center. Guliyeva’s detention is part of a wider crackdown on independent media in Azerbaijan, where dozens of journalists have been imprisoned since late 2023. This includes the nine Toplum TV journalists and media workers who were unjustly sentenced to up to 15 years in prison on 27 July 2026. Among them is Toplum TV co-founder Alasgar Mammadli, who has reportedly been denied medical care following cardiac episodes and an untreated thyroid growth.…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) fully supports the Greek journalist Thanasis Koukakis as he brings his surveillance case before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). On 26 August, Greek journalist Thanasis Koukakis’s lawyers filed an application before the ECHR against Greece arguing domestic judicial authorities failed to fully investigate the violation of the journalist’s private communications and the infection of his phone with Predator spyware in 2021.  “This application is a crucial step in ensuring that independent and impartial investigations are carried out and that those responsible for unlawfully surveilling journalists are held accountable. Surveillance tactics not only…

On 25 and 26 August, journalists covering anti-migrant demonstrations in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, were verbally and physically harassed by protesters. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) join their Spanish affiliates in condemning these attacks and calling on the authorities to guarantee the safety of journalists and media workers. The Spanish enclave of Ceuta experienced a mass influx of migrants over its border with Morocco on 30 and 31 July, with more than seventy thousand people arriving. While many returned to Morocco, between around three and seven thousand migrants, including unaccompanied minors, remain in the enclave.…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) join their affiliate the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) in raising concerns over the response of Alpac Capital CEO Pedro Vargas David to Minister of Information and Telecommunications Boris Bratina. Rather than alleviating employees’ concerns about the future of Adria News Network (ANN) media outlets, the wording of the response raises further questions about the new owner’s approach to the editorial policies of the newsrooms. NUNS has already warned that representatives of the executive branch must not dictate to media owners how they should manage their…

Today, on Ukraine independence day, our Ukrainian affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) launched the International Advisory Council of the Journalists’ Solidarity Centers, a pro bono, non-governing advisory board. The new group of international experts will advise NUJU on journalists’ safety, media resilience and the strategic development of its nationwide Solidarity Centers network. The group will also help connect the needs of Ukrainian journalists and independent media with international expertise, professional solidarity and appropriate forms of support. “Ukrainian journalists and media are working in conditions that change almost every week, from missile and drone attacks to displacement,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the undersigned organisations raise alarm over the spiral of violence against journalists in Serbia that has intensified over the past weeks. Since our international mission to Belgrade in March, online death threats and threats of sexual violence targeting independent media professionals and their families are flourishing with near-total impunity.  The undersigned organisations urgently reiterate our calls on Serbian authorities to put an end to the climate of impunity by prosecuting those who attack media professionals, refraining from the use of dangerous rhetoric, and publicly denouncing any attempt to silence public interest reporting.  While…

By Valeriia Muskharina and Viktoria Malyovana, from the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU).  No contact. No charges. No legal status. This is what incommunicado detention looks like: enforced isolation from the world and one of the most profound forms of human suffering. For three years now, journalist Anastasiia Hlukhovska from occupied Melitopol has been held incommunicado after being abducted by Russian security forces in August 2023. For civilian detainees like Anastasiia, incommunicado detention often means more than isolation. People held this way can disappear into a system where there are no court hearings to follow, no official charges to…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the International Press Institute (IPI) and and the CASE Coalition in urging Hungary’s Minister of Justice and Minister for Social Relations and Culture to ensure the adoption of a strong anti-SLAPP law and accept the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union’s request for an in-person consultation. Meaningful dialogue with expert civil society organisations in Hungary is of utmost importance. A letter was sent last Monday, 17 August, to Márta Görög, Hungary’s Minister of Justice, and Zoltán Tarr, Minister for Social Relations and Culture. Read the full letter sent by IPI below:   Dear Márta Görög…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), together with the Balkan Free Media Initiative (BFMI) and Article 19 Europe, today sent a letter to the European Board of Media Services (Media Board). We reiterated serious concerns regarding the proposed sale of the Adria News Network to Alpac Capital/European Future Media Investment and formally requested immediate regulatory scrutiny under applicable European media transparency, competition and media pluralism frameworks.  New evidence reignites concerns over the impact of such a concentration on the internal market and on the editorial independence, which would benefit from an opinion by the Media Board.  Given Alpac Capital’s history…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) project, stands in full solidarity with the French regional daily newspaper Nice-Matin, which is currently facing a defamation lawsuit filed by Renaud Muselier, the president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regional council. The EFJ is calling on Renaud Muselier to drop the defamation lawsuit, failing that, it calls on the court to dismiss the case which we consider to be abusive, in retaliation to quality public-interest reporting. The EFJ also strongly condemns  the deeply concerning incident that occurred a few days ago, in which Ugo Massi,…