The worsening situation in Gaza and the requests sent to the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) by numerous journalists have prompted our federation, in coordination with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), to send the following letter to the European Commission. The EFJ suggests that its affiliates and all journalists who feel concerned send similar letters to their respective governments. Brussels, 24 July, 2025 Dear President von der Leyen, Dear Vice-President Kallas, Dear European Commissioners, We address you as representatives of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), representing 300,000 journalists in Europe, at a time when the world is witnessing one…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) in calling on authorities to guarantee funding for Kosovo’s public broadcaster RTK. For several months, RTK has been facing a severe financial crisis as a result of the deliberate failure of the Kosovo institutions to allocate the legally approved budget. The warning that RTK may run out of funding within days and be unable to pay its employees for the month of July is alarming. In the absence of a functional Parliamentary Assembly, the EFJ and AJK call on the Government of Kosovo to…

The Israeli government is deliberately using starvation as a weapon against the people of Gaza, including journalists and media workers, who are the only ones bearing witness to the atrocities amid Israel’s ban on foreign media. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in demanding that governments across the world, the United Nations General Assembly and the international community take urgent action to halt Israel’s human rights violations in Gaza, including restrictions on humanitarian aid and life-threatening danger that journalists are being exposed to. The Federations reiterate their call on the Israeli government to…

Following the publication of the European Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law report, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) calls on the EU to act on the alarming findings to bolster its defence of media freedom and independent journalism across the bloc. As media freedom across the European Union and candidate countries continues its overall deterioration, the findings of the report must now act as the foundation for sustained action to safeguard EU values and push for strong implementation of the upcoming European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). General overview Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is pleased to see the ongoing recognition of…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners joined the SafeJournalists Network (SJN) in expressing deep concern and solidarity with over 200 journalists and media workers affected by the sudden announcement of the closure of Al Jazeera Balkans after 14 years of continuous operation. This is not merely the end of a respected regional media outlet—it is a serious blow to media pluralism, freedom of expression, and the public’s right to be informed across the Western Balkans. For over a decade, Al Jazeera Balkans was a synonym for  professional, independent, and quality journalism, covering vital political, economic, and social issues from…

The independent television channel N1’s editorial staff, regularly threatened for their critical reporting, recently faced a frightening shift from online violence to offline threats within the newsroom. Among them, a threatening letter reminding N1 of the 2015 terrorist attack at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 journalists and media workers, was addressed to the staff. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ), joined their Serbian members in urging the Ministry of Interior for police protection of the independent television channel N1 whose security needs to be stepped up. The evident escalation occurred after the President of…