#Press Freedom #Media Freedom #News   On 1 July 2016, a coalition of journalists and press organisations are hosting the “(R)EVOLUTION OF EUROPE’S PRESS” conference in the European Capital of Culture 2016: Wroclaw, Poland. This event will bring together a high level group of approximately 90 politicians, media experts, journalists, start-ups and technology experts who will examine the state of press freedom in Europe through the political, market and technological lens. President of the European Federation of Journalists, Mogens BLICHER BJERREGARD will speak at the final panel on challenges facing journalist in all media including social media. Blicher Bjerregard says, “Press freedom…

Anonymity of perpetrators, attacks across borders and a lack of police awareness and reaction are among the obstacles to properly tackle cyberbullying. The Council of Europe’s conference on gender equality “Are we there yet”  held in Tallinn, Estonia, on 30 June and 1 July was an occasion to hear from various experts on how best to tackle cyber-bullying alongside a range of other key topics, including better access to justice and leadership, stereotypes in the media, sexist hate speech and gender mainstreaming. Social media offer incredible opportunities for women to express themselves. But there is also a downside to it.…

Suspended jail sentences for whistleblowers (12 months and 1.500 EUR penalty for Antoine Deltour and 9 months and 1.000 EUR penalty for Raphaël Halet) and acquittal for the investigative journalist (Edouard Perrin), that’s the verdict of Luxembourg court in the LuxLeaks case. Judges in Luxembourg delivered today (29/06/2016) a verdict in LuxLeaks case related to the prosecution of two whistleblowers and a journalist for disclosing confidential documents from auditing firm PwC that showed how 340 multinational companies used secret tax deals to avoid paying into the public coffers. A European Parliament’s study estimates that EU countries lose 50 billion to 70 billion EUR in tax…

European trade unionists and the European Commission have called for a new start for strong social dialogue following in a conference with multi-stakeholders on ”Shaping the new world of work” held by the European Trade Union Institution (ETUI) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) in Brussels. The conference was kicked off by a panel of high-level speakers from European and international institutions, including Marianne Thyssen, EU Employment Commissioner, Jeffrey Franks, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Europe Office Director, Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Mark Keese, head of the OECD’s employment, analysis and policy division, Thomas Handel,…

A delegation of six press freedom organisations concluded a three-day mission to Croatia by calling on the country’s political leaders to guarantee the independence of the public broadcaster HRT as well as of the national electronic media regulator. Members of the delegation said the next Croatian government should act swiftly to reform the current law governing HRT, which does not provide sufficient safeguards against undue political influence over the broadcaster’s operations and output. Delegates specifically highlighted as problematic the process for nominating HRT’s director-general via a parliamentary vote. Public service broadcasting should not be controlled by party politics. Professional standards…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) have alerted the Council of Europe about new worrying threats in Belgium against the protection of journalistic sources and the status of journalists. The Minister of Justice of Belgium, Koen Geens, announced his intention to increase sentences for violation of professional secrecy, which would permit wiretapping or computer tracing of journalists’ sources. According to media reports, the Minister also has plans to allow intelligence services to “withdraw the protection linked to the status of professional journalist” if these services consider that the beneficiary of that legal status in Belgium is not really a…