The European Federation of Journalists together with EMMA, the European Magazine Media Association and ENPA, the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association, acknowledge yesterday’s vote in the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on the Report for a Regulation on European Production and Preservation Orders for electronic information in criminal proceedings (E-Evidence Regulation). Despite the efforts by the European Parliament to address several issues contained in the European Commission’s proposal, we regret that some key amendments have been rejected. As a result, the adopted report falls short of the necessary procedural safeguards to protect press and media freedom. This is…

Journalists in Europe have never before been subjected to as much violence and abusive treatment. Listen to our messages on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day. Ricardo Gutiérrez, EFJ General Secretary:   Renate Schroeder, EFJ Director: WPFD-BJV-1   Read also the Annual Report of the Council of Europe Platform For the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists and other Media Actors. #WorldPressFreedomDay #WPFD2020 #WPFD #EuropeForFreeMedia

In the wake of our discussion on Friday with the Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) expressed again today its serious concerns about the sweeping powers granted to Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a parliamentary vote approving indefinite rule by decree and jail terms for spreading misinformation. The EFJ fully supports the petition “No Quarantine for Democracy!” developed with MEPs (including Ramona Strugariu, Stelios Kouloglou, Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, Lara Wolters and Guy Verhofstadt), which is calling on all EU Member States to ensure reinforced protections for journalists, the media…

Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party wants to regulate the status of the country’s journalists, and to create a “new media order.” PiS is proposing a new regulatory framework for the conduct of journalism in its 232-page election manifesto,in preparation for the October 13 general election. The ruling party argues that the journalist profession is one which depends on public trust and should, therefore, be regulated in a similar way to that of the medical and legal professions. This would mean establishing a body to oversee ethical and professional standards, education and entry into the profession. The proposed reform…

In June 2019, the S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies published the book “Media, Freedom of Speech, and Democracy in the EU and Beyond”. The research paper was edited by Dr. Angelos Giannakopoulos, and gives insights into the media landscape of several European countries. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) contributed to this publication with a chapter titled “Media, Freedom of Speech, and Democracy: Journalists under pressure in Europe”, written by EFJ-Director Renate Schroeder. The book presents the authoritarian media system of Hungary, as well as the role of the state in media ownership in Poland. It…

On 14 June, the UK Representation to the European Union (EU) and the Mission of Canada to the EU hosted the event “Thought is free: Protecting and promoting media freedom”. In two panels, six discussants shared their thoughts on media freedom, fact checking, safety of journalists, the loss of trust in media and the daily struggles of female journalists. The event was organised in the lead of the Global Conference for Media Freedom to take place on 11-11 July in London. In his opening statement, the Ambassador of Canada Dan Costello quoted journalists to be “modern heroes”, listing a worrying…

Ahead of the European Games to take place in Minsk from 21 to 30 June 2019, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) reiterates its call on Belarusian authorities to respect press freedom and journalists’ right to work in complete freedom. The EFJ further calls on the European Olympic Committee to advocate for press freedom in Belarus, its host for the European games. At the moment, the situation is particularly worrying for freelance journalists working in Belarus for foreign media outlets, who are denied accreditation and therefore imposed unjustified bans to carry out their journalistic activities. Since April 2014, freelance journalists…

A hearing on “Threats to media freedom and journalists’ security” is being organised by the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), on 6 December in Paris. A specific motion was tabled on this issue. A parliamentary report on the matter will be prepared next year. The EFJ President Mogens Blicher Bjerregård will participate in this hearing.

The nature of conflict in the world has changed, and along with it the relationship between the media and society. Modern technologies, while presenting new opportunities for the collection of information and the dissemination of reporting, also present new dangers. Trolls and bots can now help “false news” and “hate speech” to propagate in the digital sphere threatening security and stability of societies. Yet, maintaining a free press has never been more important. Disinformation, censorship, and attacks on investigative reporters endanger it by destroying trust and accountability between and within our nations and democratic institutions. When these negative phenomena are…