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…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) in condemning the insulting and threatening behaviour of the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, towards journalist Snezana Mitrović and her employer N1 television. We call on the politician to publicly apologise and end all intimidating practices against all media in the future. Our organisations further warn that this aggressive rhetoric towards a member of the media, and indications of state monitoring of media, are the latest examples in a decades-long list of pressure by…

The owners of the Slovene daily Večer decided to move the media’s newsroom in Maribor, to another building, owned by the current mayor of Maribor Saša Arsenović. The relocation could jeopardize the newspaper’s autonomy. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) stands by the Večer journalists and calls on the owners of the media outlet to abandon the relocation of the newsroom.  The decision to move the newsroom was announced by Večer on 13 November 2023. The company that owns the newspaper Večer Mediji (Večer Media), led by director Miha Klančar, pointed out that the relocation to Galerija Gosposka would allow…