While Bulgaria has experienced modest progress on media freedom in the last four years, the situation remains undermined by persistent structural, legal and political challenges, with urgent action needed by government and public authorities to push forward both domestic and EU-mandated reforms. These are the key findings of a media freedom report published today following a three-day joint fact-finding mission to the country between 24-26 September 2025 by the partner organisations of the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform and the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), which includes the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). It provides an executive summary of…

On 1 November last year, sixteen people were killed when the Novi Sad Canopy Railway collapsed. This tragedy sparked nationwide protests against government corruption that continue to this day. While Serbian prosecutors have eventually filed indictments against thirteen individuals in relation to the collapse, protesters demanding justice and journalists reporting on the protests and the response by authorities continue to face severe violence and repression, mostly at the hands of public officials and law enforcement. In the lead-up to the first anniversary of this fatal incident, we, the partners of the Council of Europe’s Platform to Promote the Protection of…

War correspondent Olena Gramova and cameraman Yevgen Karmazin, both working for State-funded news organisation Freedom Media, were killed by a drone attack in the city of Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, on 23 October. A third reporter, Alexander Kolychev, was injured and taken to hospital. The International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) join their affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU), in condemning this heinous crime and call on the authorities to launch an independent investigation to identify those responsible. Freedom Media reported that one of its television crews…

Andrzej Poczobut, Belarusian-Polish journalist and a critic of Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, and Mzia Amaglobeli, Georgian journalist and director of media outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, are the laureates of the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought awarded by the European Parliament. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-FEJ) welcome the decision and hope this distinction will help draw attention to cases of unjustly detained journalists such as Poczobut and Amaglobeli. The Federations call once again for the immediate release of all imprisoned journalists and media workers in Belarus and Georgia. Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli are both journalists unjustly imprisoned…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) and more than 100 organisations in calling for robust and strategic EU investment in free and independent media in response to the proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034. As debates intensify over future budget priorities, our organisations stress that Europe’s democratic resilience depends on sustained and strategic support for the public interest information ecosystem. Our call to action We urge the European Parliament, the European Commission, and Member States to guarantee substantial and long-term EU funding and investment for the public interest information…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned organisations in calling for the removal of the reported anti-LGBTQ+ provision from the 11th Judicial Package which would restrict and possibly criminalise media reporting on the community in Turkey. The draft of the 11th Judicial Package was shared with the members of the press last week and is expected to be submitted to Parliament in the coming days. Under the heading “Obscene acts,” the draft introduces a so-called “Turkish-style ban on homosexual propaganda.” It stipulates prison sentences of up to three years for any behavior or attitude that is “contrary to…