The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined 15 media freedom groups and associations in again urging the EU’s Competition Commissioner to swiftly address concerns over media market distortions in Hungary. The group notes the continuing deterioration of media pluralism in Central Europe and renew their call to the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager to open a prompt investigation into pending state aid complaints. The Commission’s lack of enforcement of market rules in Hungary, the groups said, is not only allowing the situation there to worsen but now also empowering the deliberate distortion of the media market in Poland, with…

Kosovo Investigative journalist Visar Duriqi was left with a broken nose and teeth following an assault by three masked men on 25 February. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) joined their affiliate in Kosovo, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK), in condemning the brutal attack. Visar Duriqi, a journalist at online news portal Insajderi, was on his way home after attending a live TV debate, shortly after midnight, when three unknown people wearing masks assaulted him in front of his apartment. Duriqi suffered severe injuries and was taken to the hospital. The police has launched an investigation…

Vincent Muscat, one of the three presumed murderers of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, has been sentenced to 15 years in jail after pleading guilty at the latest hearing into her killing in 2017. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) welcomed the decision and urged the authorities to continue to pursue others involved in her murder. Muscat, an alleged hitman in a contract to kill the journalist, is believed to have negotiated a more lenient sentence in exchange for supplying state prosecutors with information on others involved. Daphne Caruana Galizia’s reporting focused on high-level corruption, including investigations into the Panama Papers in 2016. She was murdered in a…

The General Secretary of the European Federation of Journalists Ricardo Gutiérrez gave the keynote speech today at the Socialists & Democrats online event on media freedom and artistic freedom. He called on MEPs to push member state governments to adopt concrete measures to protect journalists. Here is the speech of the EFJ General Secretary: Freedom of the press and artistic freedom are two essential dimensions of one and the same fundamental right: freedom of expression. This freedom has been under pressure in Europe for years. And the context of the fight against the pandemic has not helped. In the last…

Journalismfund.eu reopens its European Cross-border grant programme to support independent cross-border investigative journalism. With this programme Journalismfund.eu aims to further contribute to the development of a vital European public sphere by enabling investigations into issues of common interest to European citizens. The awarded programme, running since 2009, supports professional journalists who have good ideas for cross-border investigations with a focus on European topics. Cross-border teams can apply for a grant to cover working time and expenses for their joint investigation. Next to a grant, teams can also apply for a mentor to provide assistance with either the focus of the investigation or the need for competences…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in expressing serious concern about the sharp decline in freedom of the press in the European Union. We sent a letter today to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel: Dear President Michel, Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners are profoundly concerned by the increasing threats and attacks against journalists. 2020 was an unfortunate record year: MFRR recorded 245 alerts (with 873 attacked persons or entities related to media) in 22 EU Member States, and the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism recorded 115…

From July to October 2020, attacks on media freedom in Europe took many forms, as the Media Freedom Rapid Response’s second monitoring report documents. Besides anti-lockdown demonstrations and online harassment, the impact of legal actions (SLAPPs) contributed to a hostile climate for journalists and media workers. Find all the details in the second MFRR-report. The four-month snapshot of media threats in EU member states and Candidate countries was produced by the Media Freedom Rapid Response partners, European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and International Press Institute (IPI), with support from the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF). The 114…

The solidarity meeting with the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) organised online by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) brought together 41 representatives of 29 national journalists’ organisations from 22 European countries (1) on Thursday. The participants unanimously condemned the increasing repression of journalists by the dictatorial regime of the illegitimate President Lukashenko. They demanded the immediate release of the 11 journalists imprisoned in Belarus for doing their job. The EFJ President, Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, called on EFJ affiliates to intensify actions in support of BAJ. Many participants sent letters of protest to the Belarusian embassies in their countries, as…

Catarina Andreeva and Darja Chulcova, two journalists for Belsat, the Polish satellite television station aimed at Belarus, have each been sentenced on 18 February to two years in prison for reporting live from an anti-government rally in Minsk in November. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) and their affiliate in Belarus, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), strongly condemn the criminalisation of journalism by President Lukashenko‘s regime and call on the international community to react firmly. In accordance with the request of prosecutor Alina Kasyanchyk, judge Natallya Buhuk of the Frunze district court in Minsk, sentenced Catarina Andreeva and Darja Chulcova after finding…

The second edition of the Stars4Media exchange and training programme is now open for media professionals from different EU countries who wish to develop new editorial products or test innovative ideas. The call for application will run until 1 July 2021. The EU-funded programme is born with the ambition to make the media sector more sustainable by fostering innovation and quality journalism and building new partnerships between media organisations across Europe. The first edition started at the end of 2019, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a turbulent year, it successfully supported 105 media professionals from 42 media outlets in…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) demand Belarusian authorities to stop immediately the persecution of journalists and the prosecution of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ). At least 30 journalists and human rights defenders were targeted in police raids today. Early in the morning of 16 February, BAJ press secretary Barys Haretski was briefly detained by Belarusian security forces. BAJ’s lawyer Aleh Aheyeu and BAJ’s president Andrei Bastunets were also detained to witness the search of BAJ’s offices. Other searches and raids were under way Tuesday morning at the homes and offices of…

The Turkish Association of Journalists (GCD) published today its Annual Media Monitoring Report documenting the state of press freedom in Turkey for the year 2020. The report addresses a number of topics such as the impact of the COVID-19, disinformation, the new internet regulation, the situation of imprisoned journalists and journalists currently on trial. According to the Media Monitoring Report, the pandemic of the century and legal developments throughout the year deepened the deadlock media in Turkey faces. The working conditions and freedom to report for journalists and media workers were already very difficult. According to the professional evaluation survey,…

As about 45 private media outlets went off the air in Poland on Wednesday 10 February, running blank pages for 24h in protest against a proposed media advertising tax, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) published today a new report documenting the multi-pronged attack on independent media by the government since 2015 to muzzle critical reporting and undermine watchdog journalism. The report, Democracy Declining: Erosion of Media Freedom in Poland, is published in English and Polish and presents the findings of the international press freedom mission carried out virtually by the seven partners of the MFRR between November and December…

A few days before the trial of journalists Catarina Andreeva and Darja Chulcova, on 9 February, the Belarussian Association of Journalists (BAJ) calls on journalists’ organisations around the world to mobilise to demand the immediate release of the 11 journalists imprisoned in Belarus. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ and IFJ) join the call: take action to support BAJ! Belsat journalists Catarina Andreeva and Darja Chulkova have been kept behind bars since 15 November. They were detained for broadcasting live a violent dispersal during a protest in Minsk. The journalists are accused of taking an active part and…

Ahead of the International Day of Solidarity with Belarus on 7 February, the undersigned organisations working in the field of freedom of expression and media freedom call for the immediate and unconditional release of all journalists and media workers who continue to be arbitrarily detained. Nearly six months since President Alexander Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in what has been widely acknowledged and condemned as a fraudulent election, opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya remains in exile and thousands of protesters continue to take to the streets of Minsk calling for his resignation. The regime has made every effort to prevent its…

On Monday 8 February, a Gothenburg court will deliver its verdict in the trial of journalist Henrik Evertsson and camera operator Linus Andersson for their documentary about the sinking of the ‘MS Estonia’. Charged with violating the burial site of the wreck, they face up to two years in prison. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) to stress the journalistic nature of the investigation carried out in the public interest and call for the acquittal of the two documentary makers. The “MS Estonia”, a 157-metre long cruise ferry, was en…