#european parliament
The EU General Court denies a group of journalists access to MEPs’ expenses
The General Court of the European Union ruled on 25 September 2018 that MEPs expenses can remain secret. The highest court confirmed the European Parliament’s refusal to give access to documents related to MEPs’ expenses to a group of journalists, claiming that this would undermine MEPs’ personal privacy. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns this decision and renews its call to improve transparency and access to information in the European Union. The request was forwarded to the European Parliament (EP) in 2015 by a group of 29 journalists, who wanted to access information on the MEPs’ spending records. According to Euractiv,…
Nordic Freelance conference: solidarity to support freelance journalists under attack in Belarus
The Nordic Freelance Conference 2018 took place this year in Malmö, Sweden. The Frilans Riks, the freelance section within the Swedish Union of Journalist (SJF), organised a two day conference focusing on threats against freelance journalists in particular from right wing extremists, rise in self-censorship, dialogue with the police, media situation in Belarus, as well as the power structure of the big tech companies (“GAFA”). EFJ Director Renate Schroeder outlined the work of EFJ and its Freelance Expert Group (FREG) with a special focus on its advocacy work in Brussels for improving freelance rights and monitoring increasing threats against (freelance)…
Conference Fact-checking European elections
The intention of this conference is to discuss challenges and possible solutions to: Fact checking European elections – lessons from the past, looking into the future Working with data from social media companies and EU Institutions Common areas of EU disinformation – the examples of migration and the EU budget Practical cooperation among European fact checkers Draft programme Thursday, 27 September 2018 8.00 – 9.00 Arrival and registration. Coffee provided inside the meeting room. Venue: ASP 3G2 9.00 – 9.30 Opening by Antonio TAJANI, President of the European Parliament and Mariya GABRIEL, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Followed by…
EP Public hearing – Role of Independent Public Service Media for Democracy in Europe
Independence of Public Service Media (PSM) in Europe is under increased pressure in a number of the EU Member States. Destabilization of this democratic institution in the context of the overall challenges in Europe and weakening of other democratic institutions, such as political parties represents a real threat to the democracy in Europe. The PSM in Hungary is under the full control of Orban. In 2016 a political cleansing took place in the public service broadcaster in Poland followed by a political purge in the Croatian broadcaster. Recently the Czech Television is under pressure for rejection of their annual report,…
European Parliament approves new Copyright Directive
The European Parliament today overwhelmingly approved the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM) – a major step forward in protecting authors’ rights. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) warmly welcomed the vote which is crucial to ensuring that journalists can make a living from their work and remain independent in their reporting. Independent journalists are essential to the good functioning of democratic societies. Members of the European Parliament today voted in favour of the European Parliament’s legal affairs Committee (JURI) report on the Commission’s proposal for a directive on copyright in the digital single market with 438 for,…
EU Copyright Directive: we call on MEPs to stand up for journalism
The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ and IFJ) are calling on Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to secure journalists’ remuneration and the protection of their authors’ rights when they vote this Wednesday, 12th September at Plenary in Strasbourg on amendments that have been tabled to the draft EU copyright reform. The IFJ and EFJ are concerned about the rampant reproduction and making available of extracts or the entirety of journalists’ and other creators’ works online by third parties without authorisation or remuneration. The organisations support a neighboring right for publishers (article 11) that will include a fair…
Copyright Directive: S&D – Greens Press Conference
Les députées Virginie Rozière (FR, S&D) et Helga Trüpel (All, Groupe des Verts) vous invitent à une conférence de presse qu’elles organisent aux côtés d’une délégation de journalistes européens le 11 septembre, à 16h30, au Parlement européen de Strasbourg salle Daphne Caruana Galizia (N-1.2) Parmi eux, le directeur du bureau de l’AFP à Bagdad, Sammy Kets, signataire d’une tribune en faveur de la création d’un « droit voisin » qui permettrait aux journaux, aux magazines et aux agences de presse d’être rémunérés lorsque leurs articles sont republiés en ligne via des grandes plateformes. Son initiative a été soutenue par plus…
Copyright Directive: breakfast event in EU Parliament in Strasbourg
The EFJ-IFJ and European Authors urge MEPs to support the Copyright Directive
The European and International Federations of Journalists, together with affiliates from Belgium (AGJPB/AJP-VVJ), Bulgaria (UBJ), Cyprus (UCJ), Czech Republic (Syndikat novinaru Ceske republiky), Denmark (Dansk Journalistforbundet), Estonia (EUJ), Finland (Suomen Journalistiliitto), France (SNJ, CFDT-Journalistes), Germany (DJV, dju in ver.di), Greece (JUADN, ESIEMTH, PEPU-ESPIT), Hungary (HPU), Italy (FNSI), Portugal (SinJor), Romania (FAIR/MediaSind), Slovenia (DNS), Spain (FSC CCOO, FAPE), Sweden (Svenska Journalistförbundet), Switzerland (Impressum), United Kingdom and Ireland (NUJ) and organisations of authors across Europe today issued a joint statement urging Members of the European Parliament to support the proposed Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. It represents a once in a decade opportunity…
