The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the undersigned organisations in strongly condemning the intensifying use of Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code — widely known as the “disinformation law” — to arrest, detain, and prosecute journalists, and calling on the government to repeal the provision immediately and release all journalists imprisoned under it. Since the law entered into force in October 2022, at least 83 journalists have been charged 114 times over disinformation according to news reports. The scale of Article 217/A’s use against journalists has been starkly illustrated in a recent article. The two journalists most frequently…

A new government bill which would overhaul the funding model for the Czech public media risks financially weakening the broadcasters, eroding safeguards for their financial independence and violating European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the undersigned Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and other media freedom, journalist and freedom of expression organisations warn today. Our organisations call on the European Commission to closely assess this bill regarding its compatibility with Article 5 of EMFA and to ensure that no reforms are undertaken which threaten the financial, editorial or institutional independence of the Czech public media.…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and international press freedom and journalist organisations are today calling on the Maltese authorities to make long-overdue media reforms an immediate priority, and to commit to meaningful and transparent collaboration with national and international civil society.  The assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 generated significant pressure to improve working conditions for all journalists in Malta. A 2021 public inquiry, established independently to assess the circumstances of her murder found the state had to “shoulder responsibility” because it had created an “atmosphere of impunity” and failed to take reasonable steps to protect…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) with Europod released their first episode of the Voices podcast “Journalism in War: Solidarity Beyond Borders”. Recorded in March during the third edition of Voices Festival, it explores the challenges journalists face when reporting from conflict zones and the structures that have been established to support them. At this year’s festival, Voices presented the Media Freedom Award to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the teams behind the network of Journalists’ Solidarity Centres. These hubs were developed as a response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, to provide journalists…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its partners from the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium welcomes yesterday’s acquittal of writer and journalist Roberto Saviano in a case brought by current Italy’s  Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini, setting a landmark ruling for press freedom and freedom of expression in Italy. On 16 April 2026, the Criminal Court of Rome acquitted Saviano of criminal defamation, rejecting both the public prosecutor’s request for a €10,000 fine and the additional €100,000 damages sought by Salvini’s legal team. The case was initiated by Minister Matteo Salvini in response to a number…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) commends the role of independent media in covering the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election, against a backdrop of the outgoing government’s takeover of the media. We call on Péter Magyar, who is is expected to become the next Prime Minister, to consult without delay with our affiliates in Hungary, MUOSZ and HPU, academics and civil society, in order to initiate the reforms necessary to guarantee media pluralism and independence in Hungary, in accordance with European legal standards, in particular the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). The Hungarian media landscape is characterised by the widespread takeover…

Twenty-seven years after the assassination of Serbian newspaper publisher and editor Slavko Ćuruvija in Belgrade, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned media freedom organisations to mark the upcoming anniversary of the killing by lamenting the complete impunity for those responsible for one of the most serious attacks on journalism in the country’s history. Our organisations, which were part of a recent international media freedom mission to Serbia organised by the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists and the Media freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), have monitored the media freedom crisis in Serbia intensively in the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, and other media freedom, journalist and freedom of expression organisations in condemning the arrest and deportation of Afgan Sadygov, founder of Azerbaijani news outlet and youtube channel Azel.tv from Georgia to Azerbaijan. Sadygov’s deportation constitutes a blatant violation of Georgia’s commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and demands strong international condemnation. Sadygov was deported on 5 April following his arrest at his home in Tbilisi the previous night on charges of “insulting police” on social media. The deportation verdict was made by a judge…

Over 500 organisations representing Europe’s cultural and creative sectors, independent media and journalism, civil society and democracy actors have signed an urgent joint letter addressed to EU leadership. The letter calls for a substantial increase in funding for the AgoraEU programme in the next long-term EU budget (2028-2034), envisaged as a dedicated funding instrument for culture, independent media and journalism, audiovisual media, and civil society organisations. Despite its strategic importance, the programme currently represents only approximately 0.43% of the total EU budget — a level the coalition considers insufficient to match the scale of the challenges facing these sectors. Europe…

At 7 pm today, N1 Television employees and the Coalition for Media Freedom, including the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) and Nezavisnost, will gather outside the building to show solidarity with Igor Božić, who was recently removed from his position as News Director. Igor Božić is currently unassigned pending a final decision on his status by the Management Board.  The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Serbian members in strongly condemning the dismissal of Igor Božić who has worked tirelessly in recent years to ensure independent news coverage, despite mounting political pressure. His eviction which follows the…

On 30 March, Prisma Media’s management announced that it was cutting 40% of its workforce. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) have joined their affiliates SNJ, SNJ-CGT and CFDT-journalistes in condemning this as “a bloodbath”. The news came suddenly on 30 March: the management of Prisma Media (Capital, Télé-Loisirs, GEO, Voici, Femme Actuelle…), France’s leading magazine publisher, announced a new – and wrongly named – ‘job protection plan’ (PSE) of unprecedented severity. In total, 261 jobs are at risk of being cut, representing nearly 40% of the company’s total workforce. This plan follows a collective termination agreement in…

On 30 March 2026, the Federation of Culture and Mass-Media FAIR-MediaSind notified the European Commission and European Parliament of repeated violations of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) by the Romanian government. The European and the International Federation of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) fully support their affiliate’s request to initiate dialogue with Romanian authorities and assess the country’s compliance with the Regulation. Although the EMFA entered into force on 8 August 2025 and is directly applicable in all Member States, the government led by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan has failed to implement key provisions of the regulation establishing a common framework for…

Media freedom in Serbia remains trapped in a downward spiral amidst record levels of physical violence against journalists, death threats and online smear campaigns, alarming levels of impunity, and tight political control over the media landscape, a coalition of media freedom organisations concluded. Following a two-day mission to Belgrade on 26-27 March, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its partner organisations of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists and the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) assessed that the past year had seen a continued deterioration, leaving the country in a prolonged and worsening press freedom…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) concluded its Stand Up for Journalism (SUJ) project with a final conference co-organised by the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM) on 26-27 March in Podgorica. Nearly 50 journalists and journalists’ representatives gathered to build on the project’s achievements and look ahead. The conference placed the younger generation at its heart, giving center stage to their voices and perspectives. Young journalists openly discussed their visions for the future of the profession, as well as the challenges they face in today’s working conditions. A particular focus was placed on journalists from the Balkan region,…

During the local elections in Serbia on 29 March, multiple obstructions and physical attacks on journalists by unknown individuals were documented in 10 cities and municipalities, despite them being identified as press. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the SafeJournalists Network (SJN) strongly condemn the violence inflicted on journalists and urgently call on law enforcement and prosecutors to promptly identify and arrest those responsible for these attacks. Among the journalists violently assaulted in Bajina Bašta was Darko Gligorijevic, a journalist for Zoomer. Unknown individuals first tried to take his mobile phone, after which he was hit in the head…