The President of Albania, Ilir Meta, has vetoed a proposed law that would stifle online media following the pressure from the Association of Professional Journalists of Albania (APJA), who denounced the bill as “authoritarian”. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) welcomed the decision, stressing that anti-defamation laws must not be used as tools to restrain press freedom. The proposed amendments to the Law on Audiovisual Media and the Law on Electronic Communications would have granted new government bodies such as the Albanian Media Authority (AMA) and Albanian Communication and Postal Authorities (AKEP), the power to instantly block media…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ), in partnership with their Turkish affiliates, organised last week two training workshops in Istanbul and Bursa, Turkey. The events are part of an EU-funded project promoting journalists’ rights and human rights journalism, which the organisations currently implement in Turkey. Organized on 4 December in partnership with the Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikası (TGS) and Evrensel newspaper, the first workshop focused on countering fake news and fact-checking techniques. Training was delivered in the newsroom to 12 journalists by trainer Gülin Çavuş and Orhan Şener, director of the TGS Akademi. It examined various online fact-checking techniques including KnightLab,…

UPDATE (19 December 2019): On 18 December, the Albanian parliament approved two controversial media laws, known as the “anti-defamation package”. 82 MPs voted in favour of the law, 13 against and 5 MPs abstained. We condemn these media law changes, which if they come into force, will result in the replacement of self regulation of online media with state regulation. Cosmetic changes made at the very last minute do not address all the concerns raised by the European Union, the Council of Europe (CoE) and CoE’s Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic. We urge the president not to decree these changes as…

We, the undersigned organisations, reiterate our call on the Albanian parliament not to approve the draft media laws known as the “defamation package.” Should the draft laws enter into force, they would introduce mandatory registration requirements for online media and create an administrative body with the power to fine, shut down online media and block foreign online media – all without a court order. They would also introduce state regulation of online media, which is contrary to international best practice guidelines on self-regulation. We note that the proposals are not in line with best practices on self-regulation and would have an adverse…

At the conference it is organising in Paris on 6 December, the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) joined forces with other organisations defending press freedom to call on European institutions and governments to adopt effective measures to protect the Fourth estate for the sake of democracy. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the call, emphasising the need to avoid any procedure for certification or labelling of the media, on the pretext of combating misinformation, and the importance of supporting the International Convention on the Safety and Independence of Journalists and Other Media Professionals proposed by the International Federation of…

By Tim Dawson Tim Dawson is a London-based journalist, and a member of the executive of the National Union of Journalists in the UK and Ireland. He traveled to Turkey from November 27-30 2019 to observe and monitor journalists trials as well as participate in an International Conference within the framework of the “Journalism is not a crime” EU-funded project implemented by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS). Eren Keskin is possibly the most striking defendant hauled before Istanbul’s criminal courts today. Dressed in black from head to…

Download the Codex The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) launched its Press Freedom Police Codex on 4 December in Brussels. The Codex formulates in eight clauses how the police and journalists can work amicably together. The clauses are based on research into areas of conflict between the two professions from all over Europe. It addresses issues of police violence, surveillance, accreditation, protection of sources and confiscation of journalistic materials. With the launch of the  Codex, ECPMF aims to provide guidelines, establish and continue a dialogue between journalists and the police, to help the two professions work together…

Download the report This report reflects the initial findings of the joint mission to Hungary carried out by the International Press Institute (IPI), Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). These findings are additionally supported by the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO). The mission took place from November 25 to 27, during which time the delegation met with a wide range of Hungarian journalists from Budapest and other cities as well as civil society…

Ukrainian journalist Oleksandr Vlashchenko was assaulted on 30 November, in the port city of Mykolayiv. So far, the perpetrators have not been caught despite a police investigation. The International and the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) backed their affiliate – the National Union of Journalists in Ukraine (NUJU) – in calling for a full investigation into the case and for action to bring the attackers to justice. Oleksandr Vlashchenko, who works for the web site Novosti N, was on his way home when an unknown assailant sprayed liquid in his eyes and then hit him several times in the face and on the…

Austria’s media freedom is under threat. Over the last two years, the policies of the previous government showed that the current media system can be influenced politically. In its first year under the government of Sebastian Kurz, Austria fell five places on the international press freedom ranking of Reporters Without Borders, to 16th place. According to a survey, nearly half of Austria’s journalists feel that media freedom is in a precarious state. Harassment and threats against journalists, both online and offline, also reached a new level under Kurz’s government. In addition, restrictions on journalistic access to information related to the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will start in 2020 the phase 2 of the EU-funded project “Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey” in partnership with the UNESCO. Together with its members in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Kosovo, the EFJ will organise three annual regional workshops to further develop national social dialogues and ensure the implementation of labour rights in the field of media in the region. Strong cooperation with the EFJ Labour Rights Expert Group (LAREG) will be continued to develop exchanges between journalists’ organisations from Eastern and Western…

Shortly before the collapse of the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition government in May this year, the independence of Austria’s public broadcaster ORF seemed seriously threatened. Government’s attempts to eliminate license fees, if successful, would make the ORF dependant on the government for budgetary decisions. This, in turn, would increase the risk of interference by government’s representatives in editorial decisions. Direct attacks against journalists, both online and offline, also reached unprecedented levels under the recent ÖVP-FPÖ government, raising concerns about media freedom in Austria. At the same time, journalists’ ability to access information about the government’s work was seriously affected by the government’s…

A coalition of six international press freedom organisations and journalists’ organisations will carry out a three-day mission to Hungary from November 25 to 27 to examine current developments related to the state of press freedom and media capture in the country. The mission will meet with Hungarian journalists and civil society groups. It will also hold discussions with the international spokesperson of the Hungarian government, Zoltán Kovács, as well as the newly elected mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony. Numerous reports have documented how Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has successively silenced critical voices in the country while at the same…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is a partner of the new Stars4Media pilot project, starting in November 2019. Together with Fondation Euractiv, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and WAN-IFRA (World Association of newspapers and publishers), the EFJ will put young journalists from Europe with 2-10 years of experience in contact with media outlets in order to organise an exchange programme of 4-12 weeks. WHY: Addressing the crisis of the Media sector Disinformation disorder, falling trust and readership, unprecedented challenges in their business models, shifting skills and technology. The media sector is going through a deep multifaceted crisis. Solutions for a healthy…

Investigation about Russian journalist Ivan Golunov‘s arrestation was declared ‘classified’ by Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee (SK) on 11 November. The European Federation of Journalists and the Russian Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU) denounced this decision considered as an attempt to intimidate all the journalists investigating Russian politics and corruption. Golunov has been arrested on 6 June and accused of drug-dealing – the drugs were tossed by someone into his backpack and into his apartment. Such a practice is becoming more and more common for the intimidation and imprisonment of disturbing investigative journalists. After an unprecedented mobilisation campaign by civil…

Online hate speech is a worrying and complex phenomenon, which has deep cultural and social roots and brings new questions and challenges to the issue of freedom of expression on the internet. Can a new law be a solution to tackle online hate speech or a curb on freedom of expression? How can we silence hate without silencing media freedom? Only a collective commitment at the cultural and educational level can be the basis to counter it, promoting at the same time freedom and participation. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will organise a final conference on 18 November in…