The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has joined the IFJ #endimpunity campaign. We call on the European journalists and the EFJ partners to participate in the ceremony organised by the IFJ today, from 16:00 to 16:30, at the Residence Palace’s patio, in Brussels, in partnership with the Association Générale des Journalistes Professionnels de Belgique (AGJPB) and the United Nations. 2 November 2015 will mark the second commemoration of the killing in Kidal, Mali, of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, RFI reporters. To date, the criminal investigation launched by French and Malian authorities has yet to identify the killers and bring them to…

Joachim Legatis, member of the national board of the German journalists union dju in Verdi and EFJ-IFJ expert travelled to Van (South East Turkey) as observer to monitor the November 1, 2015 national elections. He is sharing his mission report with us :  “We are in times of war. I can tell you it’s no fun to be a political opponent to the Turkish government, especially when you are working as a journalist”, says Ferhat Celik, head of Van office for the Kurdish news agency DIHA. Van (called Wan in Kurdish) is a city with 500.000 inhabitants not far from the border with Iran in…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has expressed concerns over the lack of independence of the Spanish public service broadcaster RTVE following a visit of the EFJ Broadcasting Expert Group (BREG) on Thursday, 28 October in Madrid, Spain. The group has met with representatives of the RTVE News Council (Consejo de informativos), an internal body formed by RTVE journalists “tasked with overseeing the broadcaster’s independence” and whose members are elected by their fellow journalists.   Members of the News Council at the RTVE explained their concerns over the quality and credibility of information and the need to develop measures to prevent…

This speech is given by the EFJ President, Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, at the Speak up 3 Conference: Freedom of expression in the Western Balkans and Turkey, held in Brussels on 4 November 2015.   Media, journalists and their organisations in Western Balkans and Turkey are operating in an environment where a lack of respect for the fundamental rights of journalists poses threat to the safety of journalists and media freedom. An important message that has been echoed from conference to conference like this – it is impossible to have quality, independent journalism without decent working conditions. Labour rights are a prerequisite…

The European Federation of Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists joined their member union in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), to condemn the use by the UK police of special powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 to seize the laptop of a BBC journalist and have access to his sources. Detectives served an order obtained from a judge on the BBC and Secunder Kermani, a Newsnight reporter who has produced extensive reports on jihadis born in Britain. It is understood that the police wanted to read communications between Kermani and a man who…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) today joined their affiliate, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS, in Turkish), in condemning the police raid of Kanaltürk and Bugün TV, part of pro-opposition media holding Koza-Ipek, on Wednesday in Istanbul. Police moved in after a court in Ankara on Monday ordered the seizure of Koza-Ipek, accusing the company of “terror propaganda.” The conglomerate is linked to the US-exiled cleric Ferthullah Gullen, a one-time ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has turned the government’s prominent critic, reports said. According to media reports, the riot police forced their way into…

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday afternoon that Finland did not violate a photographer’s right to freedom of expression. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Finnish affiliate, the Union of Journalists in Finland (Suomen Journalistiliitto), consider this decision as a dangerous defeat for freedom of expression. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has ruled by a majority (the President and three other judges expressed a dissenting opinion) that Finland did not violate the freedom of expression of photographer Markus Pentikäinen. This is a disappointing outcome to the nine-year legal battle and…

Thousands of Greek journalists who are members of the EFJ affiliates in Greece are taking part in a 24-hour strike starting from 6 am today against a draft bill on broadcasting licences that will be voted by the Greek Parliament on Saturday, 24 October. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has backed journalists’ unions (JUADN, PFJU, ESPIT and ESIEMTH) in Greece by demanding the government to make changes to the draft bill’s provisions that are affecting the journalistic profession, labour relations and restrict access to information. The draft law stipulates that TV stations will be able to obtain a license…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has today welcomed the launch of a new research project by the Council of Europe (CoE) to assess the risk facing journalists across the 47 CoE member states. The EFJ, Reporter without Borders (RSF), International News Safety Institute (INSI) and Index on Censorship, are partners of the project “Journalists at Risk: part of the job?” and a working group to conduct a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative study on unwarranted interference, fear of crime and self-censorship among journalists in Europe, which is one of the most important issues facing the journalism community. The working life of journalists is often…

One year after the Lamy report’s publication and shortly before the World Radiocommunications Conference 2015, senior representatives from broadcasting, network infrastructure, trade unions, viewer groups and media organisations met in Brussels to engage with EU Commissioner in charge of the Digital Single Market Mr Günther Oettinger and Member of the Parliament Mr Pascal Lamy on spectrum policy and the future of Europe’s audiovisual, creative and cultural sector.               Frequencies are at the heart of a future proof audiovisual, radio and live performance sector; with spectrum as a core driver for cultural diversity, creative jobs and growth in the Digital Single Market.…

On the invitation of Jutta Steinruck, German MEP and Rapporteur for the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs for the opinion on ‘Towards a Digital Single Market’, the EFJ participated in a conference on “Employment and social security in the Digital Single Market: Chances and Challenges”. “We may move towards a trend of casualisation threatening collective bargaining and freedom of association,with increasingly outsourced work”, warned Valerio de Stefano from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The more important it is for unions to organise in the digital economy, to advocate for fundamental rights for all workers and for companies to be…

The EFJ and seven other international press freedom organisations express solidarity with journalists in Turkey Following the conclusion of an Oct. 19 to 21, 2015 joint international emergency press freedom mission to Turkey, representatives of participating international, regional and local groups dedicated to press freedom and free expression find that pressure on journalists operating in Turkey has severely escalated in the period between parliamentary elections held June 7 and the upcoming elections. The representatives also determine that this pressure has significantly impacted journalists’ ability to report on matters of public interest freely and independently, and that this pressure, if allowed…

How has Wikileaks changed investigative reporting? The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) represented by its President Mogens Blicher Bjerregård will participate in the  the Fourth Journalism Symposium on “Investigative Journalism in age of Wikileaks” in Geneva on 28 October. The conference will feature famous investigative journalist Angelo Mincuzzi who was one of the journalists reported on the scandal of the HSBC banks last year. Detailed programme is: 10h30 : Press conference  With Hervé Falciani, former employee of the HSBC bank and Angelo Mincuzzi, investigative journalist at Il Sole-24 Ore 12h : Welcome & registration 13h30 : Symposium opening By Christian Campiche,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) organised today (20/10/2015) a Media Lunchtime Talk on Reporting the refugee crisis. During the past months, the media all over Europe have been extensively reporting on the refugee and migrant crisis. Despite most of them reporting responsibly, a number of questions arose about the limit of publishing sensitive images. Nicola Frank, EBU Head of European Affairs and Ricardo Gutiérrez, EFJ General Secretary, started the discussion by addressing their common concerns on the importance of ethical reporting and the role of media and journalists in combatting hate speech and stereotypes. “The EU media…

On Saturday (17/10/2015), the police in Montenegro violently broke peaceful protests and two journalists were subsequently detained. Drazen Zivkovic, a journalist working for the daily newspaper Dan and Gojko Raičević, the chief editor of an online news portal IN4S were detained after being obstructed from filming the police action against politicians from the opposition parties. Press photographers who came to the site of obstruction were also pushed by police and banned to report from the scene. Montenegro: Two journalists arrested with force at protest https://t.co/W23V35fuLy #MediaFreedom #ECPMF #mapmf — Index on Censorship (@IndexCensorship) October 20, 2015 “The Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (SMCG)…

LUNCH TIME DEBATE The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) cordially invite you to join us at a lunch time debate on ”Reporting the refugee crisis”  on 20 October at 12:30 – 14:00 in Brussels organised by EFJ and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). During the past few weeks the media all over Europe have been extensively reporting on the refugee and migrant crisis. Despite most of them reporting responsibly, a number of questions arose about the limits of publishing sensitive images. The debate will focus on the importance of ethical reporting, the roles and responsibilities of media and journalists in countering stereotypes and hate…