The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the Swedish Union of Journalists Svenska Journalistförbundet today to call on the Turkish government to retract its demand to close the online investigation media outlet Nordic Monitor. We believe that the Turkish government is applying pressure on its Swedish counterpart by requesting the country’s NATO delegations to close the website, whose articles are sometimes critical of the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to Nordic Monitor, the confidential request was revealed unintentionally by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akçapar on 25 October, during deliberately prolonged deliberations between the two countries, to review Ankara’s…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Belarusian affiliate, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), were guests at the 2nd Council of Europe workshop dedicated to Belarusian journalists in exile, on 20-21 November, in Warsaw. The event provided an opportunity to highlight the unwillingness of Big Tech, and even its complicity with the repression of the Belarusian regime. The EFJ calls on Tech Giants to stop supporting the Belarusian dictatorship and to protect media freedom wherever it is threatened. The event was organised by the Council of Europe and the Justice For Journalists Foundation. It was attended by around…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to call on Azerbaijani authorities to release Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli, chief editor Sevinj Vagifgizi and Hasanli’s assistant, Mahammad Kekalov. The EFJ believes that the two journalists and Kekalov are the victims of police manipulation to prevent them from continuing to investigate the corruption of those in power in Azerbaijan. On 21 November 2023, the Khatai District Court in Baku ordered that Hasanli, Vaqifqizi and Kekalov be remanded in custody for four months. If found guilty of “conspiring to bring money into the country unlawfully”, the…

The Broadcasting Expert Group (BREG) of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), which represents public service media experts from all over Europe, strongly supports the strike by France 3’s local programs. Since 4 September 2023, an absurd, fast-track reform has been imposed on employees, suppressing national news editions and putting regional editions in serious difficulty. Our colleagues in local newsrooms across France are having to produce much more content without additional resources. Staff are already stretched to the limit, and there is a shortage of additional journalists across all local programs. Employees are exhausted, overworked and stressed. They do not…

For an innovation- and creator-friendly AI Act: Europe’s creative community urges EU policymakers to put transparency back at the heart of the EU AI Act We represent the collective voice of hundreds of thousands of writers, translators, performers, composers, songwriters, screen directors, screenwriters, visual artists, journalists, and other creative workers whose human artistry lies at the core of the creativity that our societies cherish and enjoy on a daily basis. As the AI Act is entering into the final round of negotiations, we urge all policy makers to prioritise maximum transparency on training data and artificially generated content to provide…

Thirteen journalists’, press freedom and civils society organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), are calling on EU Member States, the European Commission and the European Parliament to impose greater transparency on the media and their relations with political decision-makers and economic players. Citizens have a right to know. The current negotiations on the final version of the EMFA must incorporate these transparency guarantees. Read our open letter about the transparency of media ownership and state advertising. Joint open letter on media ownership and state advertising transparency in the trilogue negotiations of the EMFA The provisions of the European…