The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on Turkish authorities to release without any delay all journalists wrongfully imprisoned in Turkey after the European Court of Human Rights ruled today against Turkey on applications filed on behalf of Turkish journalists Şahin Alpay and Mehmet Altan, who were imprisoned following the failed coup attempt in July 2016. The Strasbourg court issued today a decision on the provisional detention of Mehmet Altan and Şahin Alpay for more than a year and a half. The decision stated that “the investigating authorities had been unable to demonstrate any factual basis” that indicate that both journalists…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), representing 320.000 journalists across Europe, is shocked to learn that the Danish government intends to cut 20 percent of funding for Danish public service media (DR). The EFJ urges the government in Denmark to withdraw its proposal. The Danish government has agreed on a new media agreement that is expected to come into effect on January 1, 2019. The new measures include a cut in DR’s budget of 20%. It will also scrap the licence fee for public broadcasting. The measures were taken by the VLAK government with the support of the Dansk Folkeparti party. Free and…

A fund of up to €450,000 to support cross-border investigative journalism in the European Union is being launched today by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and the International Press Institute (IPI). The Investigative Journalism for Europe (#IJ4EU) fund is intended to foster and strengthen collaboration among European Union-based journalists and newsrooms on revelations in the public interest and of cross-border significance. The fund aims to support investigations that reflect the media’s watchdog role and that assist the public in holding those in power accountable for their actions and to their obligations. In so doing, it seeks…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) congratulates Dragan Bursać for receiving the European Press Prize 2018 on 15 March 2018 in the category ‘Opinion’ for his column “The Third Shooting of the Boy Petar from Konjic”, in Budapest, Hungary. Bursać works as a columnist for Al Jazeera Balkans. He lives in Banja Luka, a Bosnian city dominated by a Serbian population. Bursać became known for his critical writing about nationalism. The story for which he was awarded describes the tragic fate of the seven-year-old Bosnian Serb boy Petar who was killed during the Bosnian War. Because of his journalistic work, Bursać received multiple threats,…

In a statement published today the International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) voice their concerns over the exclusion of journalists’ interests in the ongoing EU debate over a neighbouring right on press publications. These organisations, representing over 300,000 journalists throughout Europe, cannot support the proposal in this form. A European Commission proposal for an EU directive on copyright in the digital single market is currently being discussed in the European Parliament and EU member states. One of the most controversial issues in this text is the introduction of a so-called neighbouring right for press publishers over…

On behalf of the International and the European Federation of Journalists, we would like to raise our concerns over the ongoing EU debate on the neighbouring right. We are witnessing this debate with great concern. as the current Directive proposal on copyright in the digital single market seems to be evolving toward complete exclusion of journalists’ interests in the exercise of this right. Journalists enjoy authors’ rights protection over the work that they create. This means that they should receive remuneration for each exploitation of their work and benefit from full respect of their moral rights. How can journalists expect…