The European Federation of Journalists joins its affiliate in Austria, the Journalists’ Union in the GPA-djp, to urge politicians – not only in Austria but throughout Europe – to keep hands off from the media. On 17 May, the German publications Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung published a video that shows by now former Vice-Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Heinz-Christian Strache, the FPÖ leader, and his parliamentary leader, Johann Gudenus, talking to a woman – purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch – about how she could invest in Austria. During the  meeting  in Ibiza, the woman…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) along with other 19 press freedom and freedom of expression organizations sent a joint letter on 16 May to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, calling for justice following the recent physical attacks against two journalists, Yavuz Selim Demirağ and İdris Özyol. The letter urges the government to publicly denounce these acts of violence and ensure journalist safety in the run-up to the mayoral elections in Istanbul set for 23 June 2019. May 16, 2019 Your Excellency, President Erdoğan We are writing to you to express our serious concern over the brutal attacks on journalists…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joined their affiliate, the Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers (JUADN), in condemning the arson attack on Greek investigative journalist Mina Karamitrou’s car. The car, parked in the Athens suburb Papagou outside Karamitrou’s home, was set on fire on 14 May 2019 at about 2:30 a.m. by a flammable liquid. According to local news reports nobody was injured. Karamitrou is a well known police reporter for CNN’s Greek edition. According to the Greek news website Skai, the police has opened an investigation on the case. Up to…

Turkish Journalist Yavuz Selim Demirag was violently attacked by a group of unidentified men armed with baseball bats on May 10 in Ankara. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) strongly condemn the aggression and urge the authorities to protect press freedom. Yavuz, a critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and supporter of an opposition party, was attacked after appearing on a TV Show on Friday night. He was immediately sent to the hospital, his newspaper The Yenicag said. His life is not in danger, however. The assault happened in a context of growing…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) elected its new Steering Committee on Friday 10 May 2019, during its General Meeting taking place in Tallinn, Estonia. More than 90 participants including delegates and observers from 49 EFJ member organisations in 36 countries attended the General Meeting to elect the next Steering Committee members and to adopt the EFJ working programme for the next three years (2020-2022). The EFJ Steering Committee is now composed of 4 women and 5 men: Mogens BLICHER BJERREGÅRD, DJ, Denmark (President) Marta BARCENILLA, FSC-CCOO, Spain (Vice-President) Marijana CAMOVIC, TUMM, Montenegro Anna DEL FREO, FNSI, Italy Yannis KOTSIFOS,…

The European Federation of Journalists has expressed concerns over the state of media freedom and independence in Hungary following the publication of a study showing that the majority of media in the country are pro-government. It was published on 2 May by the media monitor Mérték and investigates the level of independence of the Hungarian media, stating almost 78% of the media are pro-government. The study, commissioned by a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Sven Giegold (the Greens), shows the far-reaching media power of the ruling Fidez-party. In November 2018 the creation of the government-related media foundation KESMA uniting…