European Federation of Journalists

IMPACT

IMPACT – Independent Media Promoting Accountability, Community, and Trust in European Democracy

A vibrant civil society consists of informed citizens who know their rights within a system that upholds democratic values. Civil society organisations are central to enforcing and upholding EU fundamental rights and values. For a democratic political system to thrive, workers, journalists and human rights defenders must therefore benefit from stable working conditions. Workplaces grounded in democratic standards result in more equitable, innovative, job-rich societies.

The EFJ and its members strive to:

  • protect and strengthen the rights and freedoms of all journalists and journalists’ unions and associations in Europe;
  • promote and defend freedom of information, media freedom and pluralism and independence of journalism;
  • uphold and improve professionalism and to promote high standards of journalism, ethics of journalism, and journalistic education;
  • improve and defend the social and working conditions of all journalists, employed and freelance;
  • promote equality of sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status, to exercise non-discrimination in its activities and to strive to achieve equality in representation within its statutory bodies;

This project aims to achieve these principles through advocacy, training, and support to our members.

To achieve the priorities and the objectives, the EFJ will carry out the following activities:

  1. Thematic EFJ Expert Groups meetings (promoting workers’ rights and gender equality and diversity)
  2. European capacity building/advocacy training on media freedom issues
  3. A financial scheme “National Capacity building Fund” for EFJ members

The project will run from 1 January to 31 December 2026 and is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the EFJ only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Actions

EFJ workshop discusses EU policy for journalists

From 4-5 June 2026, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) hosted a two-day workshop focusing on EU legislation impacting media freedom and the digital environment. Around 40 journalists, journalists’ representatives, experts and policymakers gathered in Brussels to discuss the application in practice of key European legislation for journalists and the media sector as a whole. “Today we’re here to exchange experiences, strengthen our advocacy and ensure that media freedom does not remain a beautiful phrase in European legislation, but become something that journalists actually feel in their everyday work,” said Maja Sever, President of EFJ, in her opening remarks. Key…

Hungary: Threats against the country’s last progressive daily newspaper

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Hungarian affiliates, HPU and MUOSZ, in condemning the manoeuvres that led to the closure of the print edition of Népszava, the largest national political daily in Hungary and the last and only remaining liberal, social democratic political daily in the country. Mediaworks, the media holding company with close ties to the Fidesz party, and the logistics company Medialog-DMHM, which belongs to the same group, suddenly announced on Thursday the immediate termination of their printing and distribution contract with the publisher of Népszava, a contract that had been in place for over ten years.…

IMPACT: Journalists’ organisations roll out capacity-building initiatives

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has launched its funding scheme through its IMPACT project, co-funded by the European Commission, to help member unions improve journalists’ working conditions and defend their fundamental rights. Following a three-month process of application and evaluation carried out by the independent Evaluation Committee set up by the EFJ, 8 members from Croatia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, Spain, France and Bulgaria, were rewarded with a total of 69,012 EUR to carry out their national projects. The projects launched by the journalists’ unions and associations will address a wide range of issues, including defending media freedom as…

Poland: EFJ condemns planned layoffs at Ringier Axel Springer despite company’s profits

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliates in Germany (dju in ver.di, DJV), Poland (Society of Journalists) and Switzerland (syndicom) in calling on the German Springer Group and the Swiss publisher Ringier to abandon their plans to cut jobs at their Polish joint venture, Ringier Axel Springer Polska (RASP).  According to information obtained by the dju, the company intends to reduce its workforce by almost 12%. With 1,350 employees, this could result in around 160 redundancies, despite RASP paying out 161 million zloty (around 37.86 million euros) to its shareholders in 2024. Against this backdrop, the planned redundancies…

World Press Freedom Day: Protecting Public Service Media as critical infrastructure for democracy

Public Service Media (PSM) in Europe are under unprecedented attacks: from Finland to Italy, by way of France, Slovakia, Lithuania and Czech Republic – you name it. On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (#WPFD2026), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) advocates for public service media as critical democratic infrastructure emphasising that their quality, independence, and robust funding are indispensable for fostering informed and pluralistic debates. It is a domino effect that has been unfolding before our eyes for several years now: European governments are trying to weaken, undermine or exert greater political control over public service media. Almost…

Hungary: EFJ calls on the new political leaders to restore media pluralism

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) commends the role of independent media in covering the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election, against a backdrop of the outgoing government’s takeover of the media. We call on Péter Magyar, who is is expected to become the next Prime Minister, to consult without delay with our affiliates in Hungary, MUOSZ and HPU, academics and civil society, in order to initiate the reforms necessary to guarantee media pluralism and independence in Hungary, in accordance with European legal standards, in particular the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). The Hungarian media landscape is characterised by the widespread takeover…