On 12 March 2026, the new version of the law on the governance of Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT will be put to a vote in Parliament, while the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe has just expressed its concern about the recent amendments. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate in Lithuania, the Association of Professional Journalists (ŽPA), in opposing the bill and calling on the authorities to abandon their plans to freeze the public broadcaster’s funding and change the procedure governing the dismissal of the Director General. The Venice Commission is an advisory body that provides…

Proposed legal amendments to the law governing Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT risk weakening its editorial independence and disrupting its sustainable financing, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the undersigned partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) warn today. Earlier this week, LRT journalists announced a protest scheduled for 9 December in front of the Parliament to oppose proposed changes to the Law on the Lithuanian National Radio and Television, which they say would “dismantle the safeguards that protect LRT’s independence.” The protest is organised in reaction to two amendments initiated by the governing Nemunas Dawn party, which…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned international media freedom and journalist groups today in raising concerns over a planned “political neutrality” audit recently approved by the supervisory body of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) and warn that the measure could negatively affect editorial independence at the public broadcaster. Our organisations jointly question the need for such an action by the LRT Council Committee and warn that rather than improve political neutrality it could instead lead to self-censorship by journalists and management at the broadcaster. As press freedom organisations working at the EU level, we note…

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have jointly sent a letter today to the Prime Minister of Lithuania and the Speaker of the Seimas (Parliament). EFJ and ECPMF demand that the government ensure the independence of the Lithuanian public broadcaster (LRT), as proposed changes to the law threaten to curtail it. Here is our joint letter to demand to guarantee the full independence of LRT: Dear Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis, Dear Viktoras Pranckietis, Copy: Ramunas Karbauskis, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Viktorija Cmilyte, Andrius Palionis, Julius Sabatauskas, Remigijus Zemaitaitis, Rita Tamasuniene We are…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on again Lithuanian Parliament to guarantee the full independence of public broadcaster LRT. The Director General of LRT, Monika Garbaciauskaite, issued today a letter expressing strong concern about proposed legal changes in LRT governance. A new draft law on LRT is to be debated by the Lithuanian Parliament on 11 January. “The latest developments that are now taking place may have a direct impact on LRT’s independence and at the same time pose serious threats to freedom of speech and democracy on the whole,” reacted Monika Garbaciauskaite. Following the report, issued on 12…

Public Service Media (PSM) in Europe are under unprecedented attacks: from Finland to Italy, by way of France, Slovakia, Lithuania and Czech Republic – you name it. On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (#WPFD2026), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) advocates for public service media as critical democratic infrastructure emphasising that their quality, independence, and robust funding are indispensable for fostering informed and pluralistic debates. It is a domino effect that has been unfolding before our eyes for several years now: European governments are trying to weaken, undermine or exert greater political control over public service media. Almost…

Almost 30 international organisations, including the European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ), raise serious concerns about proposed amendments to Lithuania’s public service media law, warning that the current draft risks undermining the independence and sustainability of the national broadcaster, LRT. The legislative process has lacked transparency and inclusiveness, and key proposals – such as funding freezes and restrictions, vague grounds for dismissing leadership, expanded political oversight, and governance changes – could expose LRT to political pressure and weaken its ability to fulfil its public service mission. We are urging Lithuanian authorities to reconsider the proposals, align reforms with European…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the infringement procedure initiated by the European Commission on Thursday against Hungary for violation of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). The EFJ calls on the EU executive to do the same with regard to Lithuania, following Thursday’s vote on provisions that repoliticise the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT, in clear breach of the EMFA. The European Commission must take action against countries that no longer respect the basic principles of press freedom. The EFJ therefore welcomes the EC decision to open an infringement procedure against Hungary…

Early August 2024, the Lithuanian Parliament proposed amendments to introduce fines for people who insult or humiliate journalists. This legislative project aims to protect journalists from abusive behaviours and ensure their ability to freely exercise their professional duty of delivering information to the public. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes this initiative and calls for all European countries to implement similar measures in line with the Council of Europe Recommendation 2016/4 on the protection of journalism and safety of journalists.  The Lithuanian proposal, prepared by Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, suggests amendments to the Code of Administrative Misdemeanors.…

The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ), together with the International Press Institute (IPI), have sent a letter to the Lithuanian authorities expressing concern about the draft amendment to the Lithuanian Law on National Radio and Television (LRT). The draft was submitted by Mindaugas Lingė, Member of Parliament, on 14 June 2024 as part of efforts to increase Lithuania’s defence spending. The draft, which threatens the public broadcaster’s funding model, was submitted without prior consultation with LRT. We urge the authorities to engage in an open and transparent discussion with LRT to ensure that any changes to the funding…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined more than 30 global press freedom groups and news organizations in a letter to Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, calling for Evan Gershkovich’s immediate release. Ambassador Anatoly I. Antonov Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United States 2650 Wisconsin Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20007 Via email: rusembusa@mid.ru March 30, 2023 Dear Ambassador Antonov, We, the undersigned news organizations and nongovernmental press freedom organizations, write to express our deep concern regarding your government’s detention of journalist Evan Gershkovich and the unfounded espionage charges leveled against him. Gershkovich, who works…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) supports the work of the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union (LŽS) and media organisations active in the country to maintain the media self-regulation system in place, against the will of the Culture Committee of Parliament of Republic of Lithuania and to reshuffle it in favour of more space for public broadcaster. In an attempt to restrict self-regulation mechanisms, the Cultural Committee, in unison with the public broadcaster LRT (the largest media group in Lithuania), had put forward the Public Information Amendments, a proposal to reorganise the internal structure of the self-regulation systems in place in the…

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How to shape the future of journalists’ trade unions and associations in the Western Balkans and Turkey? The EFJ’s Labour Rights Expert Group Plus (LAREG+), composed of representatives from Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey, convened on the 10th of April 2018 in Skopje (Macedonia) to reflect on a one-year strategic plan to improve journalists’ working conditions in the region. This meeting was the last of a series of trainings organised throughout the year 2017-2018 in the framework of the project Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey, financially supported by the UNESCO and the European Union.…

Journalism is under tremendous economic pressure in the Baltics. This opens the door to political influence and PR. The governments of Estonia and Lithuania answer this with very different approaches. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) investigated the media situation in Estonia and Lithuania from 22-24 January 2018. They interviewed almost 30 experts, among them representatives from the government, academia, press councils, public service media, journalists’ organisations, investigative journalists, editors-in-chief and CEOs. First, the good news: concerning media freedom and pluralism, Estonia and Lithuania are doing comparatively well. Considering the…

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