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

Turkey: X must stop blocking journalists’ accounts

Access-blocking orders are increasingly being used in Türkiye as a tool to restrict freedom of expression and press freedom. In recent weeks, not only news websites but also the social media accounts of journalists, media organisations, professional associations and civil society organisations have been blocked from being accessed in Türkiye. In response to these restrictions, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Turkish Journalists’ Union (TGS) are making the following clear and public call to X and its management: X must not block access to the accounts of journalists and media organisations in…

Finland: News agency STT faces threats of closure

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate, the Union of Journalists in Finland (UJF), in expressing deep concern over the announcement by STT, the Finnish national news agency, that it may have to wind down its news and photo operations. This puts one of Europe’s oldest news agencies at risk of closure after almost 140 years. According to STT, the decision follows long-standing losses in its news and photojournalism units. The agency has started restructuring negotiations that could lead to 95 dismissals and the end of its current operations on 31 March 2027. It is still possible that…

Germany: Victory for media pluralism as DW reversed decision to abolish Greek-language service

On 18 September, the management of Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international public service broadcaster, reversed its decision to discontinue the Greek-language service. The service will continue in a reduced form from 1 January 2027. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) praise the joint efforts of their affiliates that fought to save the Greek service: POESY and its member unions JUADN, ESIEMTH and PEPU-ESPIT, the Union of Cyprus Journalists, the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV) and the German Journalists’ Union (dju) in ver.di. The Federations welcome this major victory for Greek audiences and for media pluralism across Europe. It prevents job…

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Prevent the shutdown of BHRT, urgent European action needed

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate, Bosnia-Herzgovina Journalists’ Association (BHN), in warning that BHRT, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s public service broadcaster, is on the verge of shutting down, and in calling for urgent action from Bosnian and European institutions to prevent its possible collapse. BHRT has been in a long-standing financial and institutional crisis, but the situation has now reached a point where the broadcaster’s very survival is at risk. Last week, BHRT was forced to start reducing its programming due to a lack of funding, while its bank accounts have been blocked for over a month. There…

Tackling online harassment of women journalists as a professional risk issue

Today, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a Fundamental Rights and Rule of Law (FRRL) Group hearing dedicated to the topic of online harassment of women. This provided the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) with an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of tackling online harassment of women journalists as a professional risk issue. “Online attacks do not remain confined to the screen. We have been monitoring several incidents that have escalated offline, putting women journalists at serious risk and requiring a timely response and safety measures. Unfortunately, online harassment is difficult to tackle as threats are under-reported and…

Ozempic

EFJ condemns fines against Dutch newspapers over weight-loss drug coverage

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns the fines imposed by the Dutch Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) on four national newspapers, NRC, de Volkskrant, AD and De Telegraaf, over their reporting on weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic. DPG Media, publisher of de Volkskrant and AD, was fined €51,000, while Mediahuis, publisher of NRC and De Telegraaf, was fined €132,000. The IGJ ruled that the coverage amounted to unlawful advertising of prescription medicines. The incident has been documentedon the Mapping media freedom platform EFJ affiliate, The Dutch journalists’ union (NVJ) said the fines “can have a chilling effect on…