Update (25th May): Our Turkish colleague Erol Önderoglu is also under criminal investigation for “terrorist propaganda” for participating in a solidarity campaign with the Kurdish daily newspaper Özgür Gündem. The EFJ and IFJ demand that all criminal charges be dropped against journalists involved in this campaign. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ and IFJ) is calling upon the presumptive upcoming Turkish Prime minister, Binali Yildirim, to end the climate of permanent judicial intimidation, threats, harassment, detention and physical assaults against journalists and media workers in Turkey. The EFJ is particularly underlining the fact that Turkish judicial authorities have recently opened an…

The Institute of European Media Law (EMR), consortium partner of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), has recently conducted a study on the state of media freedom and investigative journalism in Europe. The results published on 17 May 2016 show that restrictive rules for the development of press freedom remain a major obstacle in all countries. 1. Decriminalisation of journalism = Hungarian model Journalists might infringe the law while trying to obtain information. According to the report, all legal frameworks know limits to the freedom of obtaining information. Even though in many states courts take into consideration the importance of press freedom…

A three-day conference will be held on 27-29 June 2016 in Brussels on the theme: “Shaping the new world of work – The impacts of digitalisation and robotisation”. Organised by the European Trade Union Confederation and the European Trade Union Institute, the conference will bring together over 400 representatives of trade unions, research bodies, academia, civil society, EU institutions and international organisations to discuss how the world and nature of work and employment is being changed radically by the digital revolution. Contrary to similar conferences, this event will not only focus on the quantity of work (‘will robots destroy our jobs?’) but also…

Three top editors from the Russian RBC media group announced their departure on 13 May as the political pressure against the independent media outlet grows in Russia. The International and European Federations of journalists (IFJ/EFJ) back their affiliate the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) in expressing concerns over the growing intimidation against the media in Russia. In a statement published on 13 May RBC said that the resignations of editor-in-chief Yelizaveta Osetinskaya, chief editor of the RBC newspaper Maxim Solyus, and chief editor of the RBC news agency Roman Badanin were due to “differences regarding the media company’s future and…

A Ukrainian organisation working on national security published thousands of personal details of journalists on its website on 7 May claiming the journalists had accreditation with pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukraine. It further accused them of ‘co-operating with terrorist organisations’ and violating Ukraine law. The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) support their Ukrainian affiliates the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU) in denouncing this leak which endangers journalists’ safety and urge the Ukrainian government to bring those responsible to justice. The private contact details published by Myrotvorets (“The Peacemaker”…

On May 24, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs as well as the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality will discuss with the Commission a draft report on “Creating labour market conditions favourable for work-life balance”. The co-rapporteurs are Vilija Blinkevičiūtė (S&D) and Tatjana Ždanoka (Greens/EFA). This own initiative report is a reaction to the roadmap and public consultation published in 2015 titled “A new start to address the challenges of work-life balance faced by working families”. The objective is to increase the participation of women in the labour market by modernising and adapting the current EU policy framework to today’s labour…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is strongly supporting the initiative of its affiliate in Greece the Journalists’ Union of Macedonia and Thrace Daily Newspapers (ESIEMTH) – who drafted a proposal for the adoption of the Anti-racism Ethics Code of the Greek journalists called The Charter of Idomeni, in the name of the border control village where thousands of refugees are passing through to reach Northern European countries. The aim of the charter is to preserve the social role of journalists in the conditions created by the presence of refugees, migrants, minorities and socially vulnerable groups in Greece, discourage and denounce climates of intolerance, guarantee…

Khadija Ismayilova‘s acceptance speech on the occasion of receiving the UNESCO/ Guillermo Cano World Press Fredom Prize 2016 The mother of imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova has accepted the 2016 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on her daughter’s behalf. Dear ladies and gentleman, distinguished colleagues. You have graciously and generously gathered tonight on the occasion of the award of the annual Guillermo Cano award for press freedom. If you don’t mind, I will take a minute to pay tribute to Mr. Cano, since the award is very much about him, a person, as much as it is about press…

The European Federation of Journalist (EFJ) has strongly condemned the assassination attempt on 6 May in Istanbul against journalist Can Dündar (editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet daily newspaper) and the jail sentences of 5 years and 10 months for Can Dündar and 5 years for Erdem Gül for procuring, revealing and publishing state secrets. Cumhuriyet published in May 2015 footage that show Turkey’s state intelligence agency ferrying weapons into Syria in 2014, the journalists have since been accused of revealing state secrets. “This new verdict is clearly unacceptable, in contradiction with Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruling and nobody can claim of a fair trial since the court decided to hold the trial behind closed…

On May 3, World Press Freedom Day, offers an opportunity to highlight the importance of defending press freedom worldwide, as it is an essential component of any democracy. The European Magazine Media Association, in cooperation with an alliance of national, European and international media and journalist organisations, is organizing a conference, “(R)EVOLUTION OF EUROPE’S PRESS”, on 1 July 2016 in this year’s European Capital of Culture, Wroclaw, Poland. The event will bring together press publishers, politicians, journalists, academics, start-ups and technology experts to discuss a holistic view of real and potential threats for press freedom in Europe. World Press Freedom Day…

I can’t write that, it seems that more and more European journalists are saying this sentence to themselves when working for a media outlet. The refugee crisis, the Cologne attacks, the Panama papers or the new French surveillance law are some recent examples of sensitive topics that raised the question of self-censorship among journalists. The Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit in co-operation with the EFJ organised an event (02/05/2016) in Brussels to discuss how self-censorship affects journalists’ reporting in the European media industry.  The debate was moderated by EFJ Director Renate Schroeder, who at the outset drew the meeting’s attention to a comprehensive quantitative…

Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), a member of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with the UN Information Center in Russia had a round table discussion at the Moscow Journalist House on 28 April to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day. RUJ president Vsevolod Bogdanov stressed in his opening speech the importance of press freedom and professional solidarity. Director of UN Press Center in Russia Vladimir Kuznetsov, representative of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia Rashid Alluash and representative of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO Nikolay Khaustov, talked about the history and the importance of World Press Freedom Day and Guillermo Cano Award.…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ and IFJ) have today condemned the sentencing of two prominent Turkish journalists to two years behind bars for illustrating their columns with a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed published by French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. Journalists Ceyda Karan and Hikmet Çetinkaya, from the independent Cumhuriyet daily, were sentenced to two years each in jail by an Istanbul criminal court today. They went on trial in January last year on charges of “inciting public hatred” and “insulting religious values” after illustrating their columns with the controversial cartoon. Bulent Utku, lawyer for Hikmet Çetinkaya and…

Ukrainian freelancer Mikola Semena was today summoned for questioning in Crimea following charges of making calls to separatism and undermining Russia’s territorial integrity. If found guilty, he could face five years in prison. The International and European Federations of Journalists join their Ukrainian affiliates, the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU) and the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), in urging the Russian authorities to drop the unfounded charges against Semena. On 19 April, the Federal Security Service (FSB) agents in the region of Crimea raided and searched the house of Semena, confiscated his reporting equipment and briefly detained…

The General Meeting of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) on 25 & 26 April, 2016 adopted a series of resolutions and statements.   Download  Resolutions Resolutions 2016 by European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) Statements Statements 2016 Sarajevos by European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has elected its new Steering Committee for 2016-2019 during its General Meeting in Sarajevo on 25 and 26 of April.   PRESIDENT       Mogens BLICHER BJERREGARD Danish Journalists’ Union (DJ), Denmark  VICE-PRESIDENT     Nadezda AZGIKHINA Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), Russia SC MEMBERS John BARSBY National Union of Journalists (NUJ), United Kingdom   Andreas BITTNER  German Federation of Journalists (DJV), Germany   Marijana CAMOVIC  Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM), Montenegro Anna DEL FREO  Italian National Press Federation (FNSI), Italy Yannis KOTSIFOS  Journalists’ Union of Macedonia and Thrace Daily Newspapers (ESIEMTH), Greece…