Media and journalists request journalists’ exemption in draft terrorist content online regulation

The latest compromise of the German Presidency on the draft regulation on the proposal for a regulation on preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online raises great concerns regarding media freedom and fundamental rights among media and journalists’ organisations. The draft is currently in tripartite discussions between the Council of Ministers under the German Presidency, the European Parliament and the EU Commission with the aim to come to a final adopted text before the end of this year.  In the view of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and media organisations including the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA), European Magazine Media Association…

Armenia: new amendments to the martial law seriously undermine media freedom

On 8 October, the Armenian authorities decided to amend the martial law declared on 27 September 2020, which from now on prohibits the publication of reports criticising the actions of the government, officials and local bodies. It also gives increased power to the police to give fines, freeze assets and request removal of content from media outlets. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) joined its affiliate in Armenia in denouncing a blatant violation of media freedom in a context where non-partisan information is crucial. The amendments refer in particular to the publication of reports “criticising”, “refuting actions of…

DW journalists will get 6.2% pay rise by end of 2022

Following the last round of negotiation on 7 October, members of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in Germany (DJV and dju in ver.di)  finally reached an agreement with the management of Deutsche Welle (DW) for the new collective agreement to have 6.2% salary increase by the end of 2022. The EFJ has congratulated its members for the tough negotiation which led to a positive outcome for the DW journalists. According to the new agreement, journalists’ salaries at DW will be increased by 2.1% each year for the first two years and another 2% in the third year, amounting to…

Croatia: President Milanović is urged to stop attacking media and journalists

Together with the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) the European Federation of Journalists is urging the President of the Republic, Zoran Milanović, to stop calling out the media and journalists, which he has been doing intensively in recent days through posts on Facebook and interviews. Milanović has been publicly insulting several media outlets, journalists as well as members of the opposition and a political anaylist in ad hominem attacks. The insults began after a major corruption scandal involving an oil pipeline company was revealed in September. Milanović admitted having gone to a secret club during the lockdown in March, where apparently…