The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) sent on Friday its contribution to the Commission’s Rule of Law report, which reviews every year four key areas: justice systems, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism and freedom, and checks and balances. The issues found in most of the countries surveyed are all related to media concentration and the increasing number of SLAPPs. The objective of this consultation – jointly carried out with the EFJ affiliates – is to feed the assessment of the Commission with factual information from the ground in each Member States. Read more of the EFJ’s contribution:   EFJ Contribution…

Ukrainian journalists’ organizations are sounding the alarm. The new Media Law signed by President Zelensky threatens media freedom. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) call on the European Commission and the Council of Europe to convince the Ukrainian authorities to review the law, in consultation with journalists’ organizations and the media. The representative trade unions of Ukrainian journalists, NUJU and IMTUU, denounce multiple problematic provisions, starting with the political dependence of the state regulator and the widening of the spectrum of extrajudicial sanctions against the media. On 29 December, president Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law a controversial bill…

Following a decision of the General Meeting in Izmir (Turkey) in June 2022, members of the European Federation of Journalists decided to create a new expert group focusing on gender and diversity issues (Gender and Diversity Expert Group – GENDEG). The first in-person meeting took place on 12 January 2023. The group, chaired by Elena Tarifa (FeSP, Spain) and Lina Kushch (NUJU, Ukraine), consists of 13 other members from Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Germany, Italy, Montenegro, Portugal, Switzerland. This first meeting launched the discussions around priorities, objectives, as well as an action plan for 2023. The safety of female…

The New York Times – Critics say a new media law signed by Zelensky could restrict press freedom in Ukraine (30.12.2022) The Kyiv Independent – Zelensky signs media law criticized by journalist groups as authoritarian (30.12.2022) Politico – Europe troubled but powerless over Twitter’s journalist ban (16.12.2022) EBU Video Talks: Watch Ricardo Gutiérrez, EFJ General Secretary, talking about the safety of journalists in Ukraine (14.12.2022) France24 – L’interdiction des médias russes par l’UE, “un dangereux précédent” (09.12.2022) La Croix – À Bruxelles, des Assises pour partager les « valeurs communes du journalisme » (25.11.2022) Euractiv – European Federation of Journalists chief slams press…

New Year’s Eve is always a difficult time for journalists’ organisations and their European federation, the EFJ. How can we celebrate when we know that 13 journalists were killed in Europe, mainly in Ukraine, in 2022? How can we celebrate when we know that 124 journalists in Europe will spend New Year’s Eve in prison? The European Federation of Journalists has only one wish for the coming year: that these 124 colleagues be released. May no other journalist be killed or imprisoned simply for doing their job in 2023. On this special day, the EFJ remembers the 13 journalists killed in…

Today, the Government of Kosovo announced that it will offer shelter to five journalists fleeing persecution in Afghanistan. The journalists will receive housing, a monthly stipend, health insurance and a return ticket, for when circumstances on the ground allow them to go back home. The project will be integrated into ECPMF’s Journalist-in-Residence programme in Kosovo, in collaboration with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). The organisations are teaming up with the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) as implementing partner. Following the announcement, ECPMF’s senior legal advisor Flutura Kusari said: “We welcome this decision by the Government of Kosovo, who are again offering their support…

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today renewed its call on the international community for concrete action to protect the safety and freedoms of journalists as it recorded a spike in the numbers of journalists killed or imprisoned during 2022. The vote on the IFJ Convention on the Safety and Independence of Journalists by the UN General Assembly has become urgent. The IFJ released the latest figures ahead of International Human Rights Day, recording 67 killings of journalists and media staff in the line of duty in 2022 (including 13 in Europe) compared to 47 last year – a reversal…

Update (10.01.2023): The Dutch media regulator has granted a licence to Russian independent channel Dozhd, after Latvia revoked the broadcaster’s permit. Dozhd said it would move its editorial offices to Amsterdam and will contest Latvian authorities’ decision to strip it of the license.   The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today in expressing serious concern over the decision by Latvia’s National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) to revoke the broadcast license of exiled independent Russian TV station Dozhd, which is based in Riga. Given the clear implications for media freedom,…

On this Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners in Belarus, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) in encouraging you to send a letter to the 32 journalists and media workers currently in prison in Belarus. 27 November marks the Global Day of Solidarity with Belarusian Political Prisoners. The number of political prisoners in Belarus is growing with now near 1,450; up from 1,000 in February. The war in Ukraine and solidarity of Belarusians and civil society with Ukraine grant new reasons for the Lukashenka’s regime to target ordinary civilians and journalists.…

Today is the UN International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, #EndImpunity. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to demand governments put an end to impunity and to highlight and denounce crimes targeting journalists that remain unpunished while the masterminds walk free. On this day, the EFJ reminds that all those who commit crimes against journalists must face justice, as such unpunished crimes have a strong chilling effect on media freedom. The Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism records 26 impunity alerts involving 40 journalists: 14 in Kosovo,…

Civil society and journalists’ organisations, including the European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ), denounce government’s lack of ambition and transparency in press freedom reforms and renews calls for full justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia. Five years ago today, investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia was brutally assassinated in a car bomb attack in Malta. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues. Together with them, we continue to fight for full justice.  Today is a day to remember and celebrate her fearless journalism, the far-reaching impact of her incisive writing on financial crime, abuses of power and deep-seated corruption,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joins the undersigned media freedom and journalists organisations in urging the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic to vote to pass a draft bill which would amend the law on public broadcasting to strengthen the institutional independence of Česká televize (Czech Television) and Český rozhlas (Czech Radio). Our organisations have previously called for and supported the development of this bill, which we believe will play a crucial role in limiting the ability of political forces to influence Czech Television’s oversight council and help future-proof the broadcasters against any attempts by governments to erode editorial independence. The…

Over 1,300 people, including 18 journalists, were detained across Russia on Wednesday as rallies against a military mobilization declared by President Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine took place in 42 cities across the country. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) demands the release of these citizens who were demonstrating peacefully as well as the journalists who were covering the demonstrations. According to the independent OVD-Info police monitor, at least 1,328 people, including 18 journalists identified by the independent Journalists and Media Workers Union (JMWU), have been detained nationwide so far. A majority of those detained were women. Most…

Amidst the unprecedented attack on democratic freedoms in Ukraine, serious violations of media freedom have continued to take place all over Europe in the first six months of 2022, according to a report published today by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR). The report was compiled by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF). The MFRR monitoring report – available to download – documents violations and attacks on media freedom across European Union Member States and Candidate Countries between January and June 2022. It illustrates the increasing…

The Grodno Regional Court sentenced, on Wednesday 14 September, the investigative journalist Denis Ivashin to 13 years and one month in prison. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) join their affiliate in Belarus, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), in denouncing this travesty of justice and demanding his immediate release. The journalist’s trial began on August 15, 2022 and was held behind closed doors. Denis Ivashin was arrested on the evening of Friday 12 March 2021 in Grodno, in the west of the country. Five officers of the Belarusian intelligence service (KGB) searched his home and his parents’…

UPDATE (15.09.2022): The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has ordered a halt to the activities of the Novaya Gazeta website. The decision was taken following requests from Russia’s state-media watchdog Roskomnadzor, which said the newspaper had violated the country’s controversial “foreign agents” law. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) join their Russian affiliate the Journalists and Media Workers Union (JMWU) in calling on Russian authorities to reverse the recent decision to suspend the printing license of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper and stop to censor the outlet and its journalists. On Monday 5 September, a Moscow court granted a…