The EFJ GS AJM will attend several meetings in Skopje, in the framework of the EFJ-AJM project.

Regional conference „Freedom of expression, media freedoms and self-regulation “ Date: November 6th, 2018 Location: Bitola Agenda 10:45 – 11:00 Registration of participants 11:00 – 11:20 Introductory speeches Marina Tuneva, Executive Director of the Council of Media Ethics (CMEM) Freek Janmaat, EU Delegation Katerina Sinadinovska, President of the Managing Board, Council of Media Ethics 11:20 –11:40 Networks of cooperation between journalists and civil society for protection of democracy and freedom of expression Ricardo Gutiérrez, General Secretary of the European Federation of Journalists 11:40 –12:00 Media, ethics and self-regulation Sefer Tahiri, member of the Press Complaints Commission, CMEM 12:00 – 12:20…

Several amendments to the Electoral Code were passed  by the Macedonian Parliament on 25 July 2018 in a fast-track procedure, as a result of a political agreement between the leaders of the four main political parties. An amendment to the Electoral Code empowers the State Election Commission to register and monitor online media reporting on the elections. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) supports its Macedonian affiliates, the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM-ZNM), the Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM), joined by the Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia, in criticising the new Electoral Code, as the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) was invited to meet important stakeholders on media including the leadership of the host, the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM)  on 8-9 May 2018 in Skopje. The meetings were part of a project on building capacity of  the AJM. The EFJ also met Tamara Chausidis, the President of the Trade Union Of Macedonian Journalists And Media Workers (SSNM) and some photo journalists  to coordinate common work and discuss some major challenges photo journalists face in Macedonia. On 9 May, Renate Schroeder, EFJ Director together with Dragan Sekulovski, Director of the AJM met with Robert Popovski,…

A delegation of the Western Balkans’ Regional Platform project for advocating media freedom and journalists’ safety visited Brussels on March 21st and 22nd and held meetings and consultations with the members of the European Parliament and representatives of the European Commission from the Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement negotiations (DG NEAR). Representatives of journalists’ associations and a trade union from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia presented the journalists’ safety and the media situation in their countries. They emphasised joint problems their members and other journalists face, including poor working conditions, fear for personal safety due to work,…

Report on the April 2017 Joint International Mission In a joint mission, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), and the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) observed the situation of journalists and media workers in the Republic of Macedonia. The on-site research in Macedonia in April 2017 was motivated by the deterioration of the safety of journalists through the increasing number in verbal and physical attacks. This report indicates that through complex set of mechanism the previous government, as well as authorities, gave their…

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s EU Office is organising a conference on Macedonia on Wednesday, 6 December from 12:00 to 13:00, at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Rue du Taciturne 38, in Brussels. Keynote speaker: Mr. Zoran Zaev, Prime minister of the Republic of Macedonia. His speech will be followed by a public discussion with Tanja Fajon MEP and EEAS Political Director Jean-Christophe Belliard. After the ‘colourful revolution’ in Macedonia which led to new elections, a new government came into power in May 2017. The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, in coalition with several ethnic Albanian parties, brought a breath of fresh air into the country,…

“How to improve the precarious state of journalism in South East Europe and Turkey” was the topic of a press conference held by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) on 14th November 2017 at the Press Club Brussels. The press conference took place in the framework of the EFJ project, Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey – a project supported financially by UNESCO and the European Union. Andris Kesteris, principal advisor at DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR) at the European Commission and Tarja Turtia, UNESCO Programme Specialist, attended the event to hear representatives of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is joining the call of the Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety in condemning the attacks and pressures on journalists, which happened in the last few days in Slavonski Brod (Croatia), Skopje (Macedonia) and Partes (Kosovo) : On Wednesday, August 23, journalists Visnja Ruzojcic from HRT and Aleksandra Primorac from the portal SBplus were physically attacked in Slavonski Brod. According to the reports of the SBplus portal, the journalists Primorac and Ruzojcic reported on the shooting, which happened during the previous night and in which one citizen was seriously injured.…

During a press conference today in Skopje (Macedonia), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) and Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) called on the Macedonian authorities to investigate the attacks against 10 journalists and media workers, during last night’s storming of the Macedonian parliament building by nationalist demonstrators. At least two journalists were injured in the attack, according to reports from the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (ZNM). Dimitar Tanurov, a reporter for the independent online news agency Meta, was taking pictures inside the parliament. He…

Following ECPMF-EFJ-SEEMO-OBCT fact-finding mission to Macedonia, on 25th-28th April 2017, the four organisations issued this statement today, regarding rising violence against journalists in Macedonia: We hereby express our deep concerns about the yesterday‘s violent attacks against journalists in the parliament of the Republic of Macedonia. From the beginning of 2016 until yesterday at least 21 attacks against journalists in Macedonia have been registered by the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (ZNM), out of a total of several dozens within the last years. All this clearly demonstrates a rising trend in violence against journalists. The state of media freedom in the…

The EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez will attend several meetings in Skopje, Macedonia, in the framework of the AJM-EFJ project “Journalists’ Network for Media Freedom in Macedonia“.

ECPMF, OBCT, SEEMO and EFJ are organising an important fact-finding mission to Skopje, Macedonia. The EFJ will be represented by its General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez. The mission will focus on the recent attacks/violence against journalists, which are, to our knowledge, often not investigated. There will be a press meeting to release a first statement on Friday, 28th, at 10am. Background information: IREX Media Sustainability Report (2017) on Macedonia: https://www.irex.org/sites/default/files/pdf/media-sustainability-index-europe-eurasia-2017-full.pdf (p. 63-76) FreedomHouse Report (2016) (https://freedomhouse.org/country/macedonia). CPJ article: https://cpj.org/blog/2017/04/in-macedonia-anti-press-rhetoric-leaves-journalist.php#more The 9 alerts on Macedonia submitted to the CoE Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists; The news on Macedonia…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the largest organisation of journalists in Europe representing over 320,000 journalists in 71 journalists’ organisations across 43 countries, has received today (24/03/2017) an alarming letter from the WB Regional platform for advocating media freedom and journalists’ safety expressing “deepest concerns at the unprecedented attacks on journalists in the Republic of Macedonia”. Based on the fact reported by the Regional platform mentioning at least 19 new attacks against journalists since the beginning of 2016, the EFJ is calling Macedonian authorities to take concrete actions to prevent further attacks against journalists and media workers active in the country and…

Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety wants to express its solidarity and support to journalists and media workers in Macedonia faced with constant pressures, including physical attacks and death threats. We are especially concerned by the fact that coordinated attacks involve public officers and representatives of state institutions. In last four years in Macedonia there were 44 attacks against journalists, 19 of them last year. “The European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg confirmed violations of freedom of expression in Macedonia, but local institutions did not punish any of attackers against journalists”, says Naser Selmani, president of…