(Brussels, 28 November 2014) The First Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr. Frans Timmermans, has told a delegation from the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) that sustaining quality journalism and putting Europe’s media freedom back on track will be high on his agenda. Mr Timmermans, the First Vice-President who is also the EU Commissioner in charge of Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, Rule of Law and Charter of Fundamental Rights highlighted that the financial crisis in the European media industry is affecting journalists’ rights, jobs and journalism as a public good. “Preserving reliable and quality information is an existential question for…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has joined forces with the Council of Europe (CoE) and media freedom partner agencies, in launching a new online “rapid reaction” platform for journalists under threats. The platform would allow trusted media freedom partner agencies to post “alerts” on a public, centralised online platform when individual journalists are in danger or their work is under threat – opening the way for swift reactions from international organisations which uphold media freedom standards, such as the Council of Europe, OSCE Media Freedom Representative, EU and UN. The platform will be launched on 4 December in Paris…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have today staged an action in Brussels to support its affiliate, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), whose members were accused of violating the law for their campaign action on 5 November, Stand up for Journalism Day. The EFJ and IFJ (in the picture) have mimicked the action taken by the BAJ members on 5 November in order to show the ridiculousness of the police charges. The charges were brought against the group after they took a picture in Vitebsk to support the Stand Up For Journalism…

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joined the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), their affiliate in Belarus, in asking the national authorities to drop the charges against several journalists accused by the police of holding an unauthorised action. The charges were brought against the group after they took a picture in Vitebsk to support the Stand Up For Journalism Day of the EFJ held on 5 November. They are now waiting a court appearance. According to the open letter published by BAJ calling for the charges to be dropped, seven of its…

“In Macedonia, only 1 % of journalists consider their jobs to be absolutely secure while 77 % believe that they are under constant risk of being fired. Raising the issue and the consequences of the insecure or precarious work in the media industry is more than necessary”, shows a new survey published today (24/11/2014) in Skopje by the SSNM (Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers, an EFJ affiliate). The study based on 104 in-depth interviews with local journalists has been presented by SSNM President Tamara Chausidis during a conference on “Precarious Work in the Media Industry” attended by SSNM…

(20.11.2014) The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has carried out a mission to Ukraine on 6 – 8 November to investigate the situation facing journalists reporting in conflict areas. Yannis Kotsifos, a member of the EFJ Steering Committee has visited the EFJ affiliates (NUJU and IMTUU) in Kiev to understand the challenges they face in protecting their journalists. ” Since the political crisis in Ukraine broken out in November 2013, journalists have been at the heart of these events covering violent demonstrations, clashes and armed conflict. They have been shot at, assaulted, kidnapped, arrested, abused and killed. They have been…

The EFJ Annual Meeting in Moscow on 20 – 21 November 2014 has adopted 18 resolutions  on Economic Crisis, Labour Rights, Gender Ethics, Press Freedom and Safety EU Lobbying You can download the resolutions in English or French. The Annual Meeting has also made statements to express solidarity with journalists and their unions in Greece, France, Palestine and the Philippines. (read the statements in English / French).

Some 53 delegates from 26 countries representing trade union organsations and professional associations of journalists at the Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in Moscow on 21 November expressed their solidarity and full support for ethical journalism and the struggle of Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) to defend independent journalism and the safety of journalism. The Annual Meeting commenced with a minute of silence to remember the 56 journalists who were killed for doing their jobs since 1993 in Russia. ‘‘Journalists in Russia are facing a great challenge today. We need more than ever solidarity, unity and…

Our job is neither to please nor to harm anyone; our job is to portray the truth with our pen … What Albert Londres, a French journalist and one of the founding father of investigative journalism, said has captured the spirit of the Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Journalist which will be held  at the House of Journalist in Moscow this Friday 21 and Saturday 22 of November. While the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) held its last World Congress in Istanbul, the EFJ will hold its Annual Meeting in the capital of Russia. The goal is to…

On 18/11/2014, a conference entitled “Media Integrity Matters – Reclaiming public service values in the Western Balkans media: How should the European Union Respond ?” has been organized in Brussels by MEP Tanja Fajon. The event was a follow-up to the publication of the book “Media integrity matters” in June 2014, comprising the research conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia. The study aims at addressing the obstacles to a democratic development of media systems in the countries of South East Europe/Western Balkans by pointing out corrupt relations and practices in media policy, media ownership and financing,…

On 12 – 14 November, the Council of Europe (CoE) has launched a new toolbox for media professionals at the final encounter of a EU and CoE funded project on Media in Europe for Diversity Inclusiveness (MEDIANE) with partnering organistions* including the European Federation of Journalists. The toolbox called “MEDIANE Box” was developed based on the hundreds of media professionals who have participated throughout the two-year project led by the CoE. The MEDIANE Box aims at supporting media professionals to include diversity in their daily work and production. It is considered as a self-monitoring tool to monitor the capacities of the media and…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with the AJP, the Belgian Association of Professional Journalists, strongly condemn the recent police violence used against press photographers, who clearly declined their identity as journalists while on duty. During the national demonstration held on 6 November in Brussels, a press photographer working for Sudpresse newspapers group was struck by a punch by police officer while he was taking a picture of another wounded policeman. Only the intervention of two journalists has been able calm the police, reports the AJP. “Moreover, a press photographer working for Photo News press agency was attacked twice.…

EFJ – the European Federation of Journalists, ENPA – the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association, EMMA – the European Magazine Media Association, and EPC – the European Publishers’ Council sent a joint letter to DAPIX, the European Council Working Group on Data protection, to ask them not to lower the level of protection of Press Freedom. The joint letter call on DAPIX to ensure that Article 80 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides a clear, directly applicable and legally binding exemption for journalistic data processing. Or, at the minimum, preserves the actual acquis on the draft Regulation on data…

The Finnish public broadcasting company Yle has announced on Monday 3 November about the imminent plan to reduce at least 185 permanent jobs as part of its cost-cutting measures. Following the announcement, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) Initiates has sent a letter to CEO, Mr Lauri Kivinen, and the management team of Yle, calling on them to engage in dialogue with the journalists’ union, Suomen Journalistiliitto. According to Yle, the cost-cutting measures were introduced as a result of a funding shortfall. Earlier this year, the Finnish Parliament has decided to freeze an inflation-related increase on the so-called Yle tax…

The 3rd High Criminal Court in Istanbul has today (05/11/2014) proceed to the hearing of the KCK Press trial where 46 journalists and media workers are being prosecuted for being a member or doing propaganda work on behalf of an illegal terrorist organisation. The European Federation of Journalists’ (EFJ) Project Officer Mehmet Koksal, the International Publishers Association (IPA)’s Director José Borghino and the head of Istanbul Branch of the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) Gökhan Durmus have attended the hearing in solidarity with the accused journalists. During the court hearing, the defendants lawyers argued about the unconstitutionalilty of the current…