Following the publication of the so-called “transparency template” by the European Commission’s AI Office on 24 July, most AI model providers will be required to publish summaries of training data as of 2 August 2025. Although these templates were initially designed to facilitate copyright enforcement by obliging AI developers to disclose the origin of their training data, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the media and creative sectors in criticising the finalised template, having repeatedly called for more detailed transparency obligations. Required by the AI Act, this obligation for AI model providers to disclose the data used to train…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate in Kosovo, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK), in expressing concern that no visible action has been taken regarding the need to prevent the financial collapse of the public broadcaster, RTK. As we approach the end of July and the deadline for allocating the second part of the budget is looming, EFJ and AJK make an urgent call to the caretaker Government of Kosovo to immediately take measures to allocate the budget due to RTK. Failure to do so puts at risk the basic functioning of the Public Broadcaster, RTK,…

Today, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) launched an appeal for donations from European journalists to support their colleagues in Gaza, who are facing an unprecedented level of forced starvation. The campaign, called ‘From Journalist to Journalist’, was launched to all the organisations representing journalists in Europe by EFJ President Maja Sever and PJS President Nasser Abu Bakr. “I thank European journalists’ organisations for their efforts to convince their governments to take concrete action to put an end to the forced starvation in Gaza and the war crimes and crimes against humanity targeting civilians,…

On 23 July, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) submitted its contribution to the European Commission’s consultation on the European Media Freedom Act’s (EMFA) Article 18. Under Article 18, very large online platforms (VLOPs) will be required to respect new procedural safeguards when they intend to remove or restrict the visibility of journalistic content. The EFJ underlines the importance of a strong journalists’ privilege to protect editorial content from arbitrary and opaque content moderation practices deployed by VLOPs. To benefit from Article 18’s safeguards, media service providers must complete a self-declaration attesting to their compliance with specific criteria, such as adherence to editorial standards…

This article was originally published in the journal “Public Value International”, volume 7: “Under Attack! Populism & Public Service Media”, Under Attack! Antidemokratischer Populismus und Medien (Östereichischer Rundfunk, ORF). Public service media is there to serve the public — the citizens, who fund them and to whom they owe responsibility, transparency, and trust. In times of democratic instability, the rise of populism, and increasingly frequent attacks on media freedom, public broadcasters should be the backbone of the media ecosystem – the strongest pillar – precisely because they do not – or less – rely on advertisers or politically influenced funding.…

The German trade union and journalists’ association DJV and dju inver.di have secured an average wage increase of 10.5 percent in three phases until the end of 2027 for daily newspaper workers. The agreement was reached in July 2025 after the tenth round of negotiations between the union and the publishers’ association BDZV, and applies retroactively from January 2025. The negotiations were accompanied by 36 nationwide strikes, which played a key role in reaching the agreement. Freelancers and young journalists will particularly benefit, with their salaries expected to increase by up to 16% over a three-year period. The German newspaper market,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Serbian members, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), the Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS), and the Branch Trade Union of Culture, Arts and Media ‘Nezavisnost’ in expressing strong protest over a series of alarming cases indicating systematic retaliation and pressure against employees and freelance associates at Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), particularly those who have voiced their support and expressed opinions in favor of objective, professional, and legally grounded reporting. EFJ member organisations from Serbia have recorded multiple cases in which employees were punished, had their contracts terminated, or were placed…

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…

The brutal announcement on 10 July of the definitive closure of the Al Jazeera Balkans (AJB) TV channel shocked the journalistic community in the Balkans. The last news broadcast was on Saturday. Previously recorded material will continue to be broadcast until the end of July, after which the signal will be permanently switched off. Qatari media outlet Al Jazeera launched its Balkans channel in 2011. It was known for its investigative journalism and regional network of correspondents from Sarajevo, Belgrade, Zagreb, Skopje, Podgorica, Ljubljana and Prishtina. The dramatic news inspired the following comment from the President of the European Federation…

Turkish media regulator RTÜK has imposed an administrative fine and a 10-day broadcasting suspension on Sözcü TV over a statement “Turkey is not a Muslim country” made by Murat Kubilay, a columnist in national media outlets in Turkey, on the ‘Money Politics’ programme. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Turkish affiliates condemn this disproportionate decision which amounts to censorship. According to RTÜK’s decision, Sözcü TV is off the air for 10 days from 9 July. Journalists representing several organisations, including EFJ Turkish affiliates (TGS, DİSK Basın-İş, GCD…) visited the channel’s office in Ankara to express their support. “RTÜK…

The undersigned journalists and media freedom organisations are profoundly appalled by the new attacks against journalists across Serbia, many of which are perpetrated by state representatives and law enforcement authorities. The situation of emergency of media freedom in Serbia – as assessed by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) during its April solidarity mission – has not only persisted but significantly deteriorated at alarming speed, despite our repeated warnings and recommendations.  As of 11 July, the Mapping Media Freedom platform, has documented a total of 95 cases of press freedom violations against 184 journalists, media outlets, and journalists associations in…