The passing of a law by the President of Poland which will establish stronger safeguards against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) is a long-awaited victory for media freedom which will provide important legal protections for public interest journalism, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners said today. Our organisations welcome the passing of the amendment, which will establish a strong legal basis in Poland to fight SLAPPs. The law covers both domestic and cross border SLAPPs ensuring implementation of both EU Anti-SLAPP Directive and Council of Europe Recommendation Against SLAPPs. Crucially, the Polish law…

The Czech government plans to replace the licence fee with state budget funding for public service media from January 2027. The proposed funding levels would represent a significant real-terms cut, with no safeguards for the independence of the public service media, no prior consultation with the broadcasters, and insufficient time for public and parliamentary debate. On Friday, the EFJ Annual Meeting unanimously adopted a motion, tabled by the Syndicate of Journalists of the Czech Republic (SNCR), calling on the Czech government “to immediately reconsider the proposed reform and ensure full compliance with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), particularly with…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate in Serbia, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), in strongly condemning the vandalism, on Saturday night, in Novi Sad, of the car belonging to David Gruhonjić, the son of our colleague Dinko Gruhonjić, NDNV program director, who has been continuously targeted by the Serbian regime. The severe damage to the vehicle represents yet another in a series of security threats that cannot be viewed separately from the long-standing, organized campaign of persecution to which Dinko Gruhonjić has been exposed due to his journalistic, academic, and public engagement. The EFJ and NDVN…

This year, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) held its annual meeting in Ankara, Turkey (18-19 June). Hosted by the Journalists’ Association (GCD), the event themed ‘Journalism under siege’, brought together 85 representatives of 42 journalists’ trade unions and professional associations from across Europe and the newly elected president of the International Federation of Journalists, Zuliana Lainez. “You came at the time when you were most needed,” declared GCD Chairman Nazmi Bilgin, referring to our symbolic presence, in a country where journalists have long paid a high price for their reporting of public interest. The annual meeting kicked off with GCD…

Speech by EFJ President Maja Sever in Ankara, Turkey – 18 June 2026 It seems to me that every year, when I stand before you at the opening of our annual assembly, there are new threats, new reasons for concern, and new examples of democratic standards being eroded across Europe. Yet every year also reminds us why journalism matters. Because when freedom and democracy come under attack, journalists are the first to defend them. Every time we think we have reached the limits of political polarisation, social distrust, and open attacks on the media, reality proves us wrong and shows…

From 9-11 June 2026, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) conducted a joint mission to France to assess the current state of media freedom in the country. This statement presents the mission’s preliminary findings.  The mission was led by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and joined by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), and the International Press Institute (IPI). The mission was organised with the support of local partners, the journalists’ trade unions SNJ, SNJ-CGT, CFDT-Journalistes, as well  the French…