The European Parliament’s initiative report  to make proposal to reform EU copyright/authors’ rights law fails to improve the contractual position of authors and performers. The report adopted in the plenary session yesterday in Strasbourg was drafted by German Eurodeputy Julia Reda and is the result of months of lobbying and heated debates in the hemicycle. The adopted text makes a number of proposals to amend authors’ rights legislation in the EU as a contribution to the European Commission’s upcoming revision package on authors’ rights to be issued by the end of 2015. While the adopted text makes a specific call…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today expresses its sadness and condolences for the loss of a great colleague, Mr. Santo Della Volpe, President of the Journalists’ Union of Italy (FNSI – Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana) who passed away early this morning at the age of 60. Della Volpe was elected as the President of the FNSI this January at its national Congress in Chianciano. He was a well-known TV journalist for the public channel of RAI, TG3. Della Volpe was also the founding member and Vice-President of the press freedom organisation “Article 21” in Italy. Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, EFJ…

Journalists’ Union of Serbia (SINOS, EFJ-IFJ affiliate) and the Professional Association of Journalists of Serbia (PROUNS) held today (08/07/2015) an indignation rally outside the building of the Serbian Constitutional Court. SINOS members demanded the Constitutional Court to take into consideration the initiative for assessing the constitutionality of the new law on public information submitted by several media associations almost a year ago. According to SINOS, the new law could hamper the transparency of media ownership resulting in some tycoons and political parties owning most of the media. In August 2014, the Serbian Parliament adopted a new package of media legislation (Law on…

Plenary session of the European Parliament on 9 July 2015 We will not limit #FreedomofPanorama. People can take pictures of whatever they see in public places #EPlenary #copyright @Senficon — Günther H. Oettinger (@GOettingerEU) July 9, 2015     The European Parliament is likely to adopt an initiative report that could potentially hamper the right of press photographers to take photographs in public spaces, the International and the European Federation of journalists have warned. The report, drafted by the German Eurodeputy Julia Reda, makes a number of proposals to amend authors’ rights legislation in the EU as a contribution to…

Send your solidarity message to the AFP staff on strike in the comment box below. Strike continues at AFP France against termination of collective agreements (c)P.Kamenka http://t.co/MQqMzEYvmFpic.twitter.com/50JOckydIk — EFJ (@EFJEUROPE) July 8, 2015     The International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists have today called on Mr Emmanuel Hoog, CEO of Agence France Press (AFP), one of the world’s major news agencies, to revoke the company’s decision to terminate 117 collective agreements and business agreements. The social model that has been put in place for decades at the AFP provides the protection necessary for journalists and…

A study led by the Belgian association of professional journalists (AJP, EFJ affiliate) on diversity and equality shows that women make less than 18% of people interviewed in French speaking dailies, which is 5 times less than men. The new figures show no progress in this field since the last survey conducted in 2011 by AJP and are below the world average of 24% across all media. Women are rarely quoted in information related to sports (7%), politics (18%), environment (16%) or in news analysis. The study also shows that women have greater presence in areas such as education (37%), health and well-being…

The EFJ affiliate in Sweden, Svenska Journalistförbundet, has announced the signature of a new collective agreement with Almega Medieföretagen covering all freelance journalists and media workers. “This agreement is an important step forward to strengthen the position of freelance journalists in Sweden,” said Jonas Nordling, President of the Swedish union of journalists. EFJ President, Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, quickly congratulated the Swedish colleagues for what he qualified as an “impressive collective agreement for all freelancers”. Impressive agreement for all #freelance in @journalistforb Sweden https://t.co/W0oeVecdnR @EFJEUROPE #TradeUnion — Mogens B. Bjerregård (@mogensbb) July 1, 2015 It is important to note that the agreement covers all freelance…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have today expressed deep concerns about the violence used against journalists and media workers covering labour issues in Turkey. “International standards like freedom of association, right to collective bargaining and right to strike must be respected by all parties and journalists who are playing a key role to assess the effectiveness of those rights should be totally free to do their job”, said EFJ-IFJ. According to media reports and local trade unionists, journalists and freelance media workers reporting on labour issues for the daily Evrensel Gazetesi and the…

Journalists and photographers will face a new wave of restrictions on their work as the Spanish government enacted the controversial public security law (also known as gag law or “Ley Mordaza” in Spanish) on 1 July, warned the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), who have joined their Spanish affiliates FAPE, FeSP, FSC-CC.OO. and ELA-Gizalan in calling for repeal of the law.  The Public Security Law makes a criminal offence “any unauthorised use of images or personal as well as professional data concerning police officers which may put at risk the safety of the…

Rising hatred and extremism on online platforms is a new challenge for journalists. Their work is getting much harder in a political climate marked by hatred and discrimination. The need for accurate and truthful reporting is more important than ever. “How to deal with hate speech and freedom of expression in the daily editorial work”: the issue will be discussed during the coming international seminar organised in Florence, Italy, by Associazione Carta di Roma and Arci, with the contribution of the Robert Kennedy Foundation Europe, Cospe and LSDI (Libertà di Stampa e Diritto all’Informazione). The European Federation of Journalists will also participate to the…

The Union of Journalists in Bulgaria (SJBP Podkrepa, EFJ affiliate) has successfully held its 9th national conference on 25/06/2015 at the conference hall of the Confederation of Labour Syndicate in Sofia (Bulgaria). Reneta Nikolova, TV journalist, author and presenter of the rubric We and the Law at the Bulgarian National Televison, has been re-elected as President of Podkrepa with an absolute majority, she will work in tandem with her deputy Yavor Simov, an investigative journalist. The SJBP Podkrepa has 187 members and the main objectives of the new leadership are the following : recruitment of new members improving working conditions for journalists support investigative journalism sharing European best…

In the framework of the project “Rights and Jobs in Journalism”, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with the Spanish journalists’ union (FSC-CCOO) will organise a one-day workshop on “Labour Rights for Journalists” on 24 September in Albacete, Spain.   Agenda The workshop will discuss and offer practice tools and exchanges on the following themes: Defending journalists’ rights in the changing working relations and conditions Industrial actions and collective bargaining: Organising and mobilising membership Protection for the vulnerable media workers – young, freelance, female journalists Download the agenda. Practical information Workshop Venue: Hotel Europa (SAN ANTONIO, 39 Albacete , ALBACETE , 02001, España) Transport…

On Sunday (28/06/2015), the police in Istanbul used tear gas and water cannon to disperse  LGBTi Pride Parade peaceful participants before even the beginning of the demonstration. Journalists and press photographers have prevented by the police from doing their job. The 13th edition of the Istanbul LGBTi Pride Parade was authorised and scheduled to start on Sunday at 5 pm at Taksim Square but the demonstration had “suddenly been banned by the Istanbul Governor’s Office using the month of Ramadan as the reason without any announcement”, according to the Istanbul LGBTI Pride Week Committee. Tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets have been used against…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the launch of the Croatian Center for the Protection of Freedom of Expression. The Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND), in cooperation with the Union of Croatian Journalists (SNH), both members of the EFJ, will present this project in Zagreb, on 2 July. The Center will provide legal protection to journalists, in a context of increasingly frequent threats and intimidation. The new chair of HND, Sasa Lekovic, will present on Thursday, in Zagreb, the brand new Center for the Protection of Freedom of Expression (CPFE). The organisation will provide legal advice and representation to journalists…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have together condemned the actions of Armenian police who attacked and briefly detained at least 10 media workers who were covering a demonstration on 23 June in Yerevan (Armenia). The two organisations have asked the authorities to investigate the incidents and punish the perpetrators. According to media reports, at least 10 media workers were assaulted and briefly detained by police officers who destroyed phones, cameras, laptops and video equipment of many journalists. The police also confiscated the memory cards of those who had filmed the crackdown against…

Representative from 20 journalists’ organisations, publishing houses, academic institutions, trade unions and media experts from many European countries have launched the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) in Leipzig, Germany. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is among the founding members of the ECPMF. Mogens Blicher Bjerregård (EFJ President) and Liljana Smaijlovic (UNS President, Serbian Journalists’ Union) have been elected to the 8-member Executive Board,  Naser Selmani (President of the Journalists’ Association  of Macedonia) was elected into the Supervisory Board. The ECPMF is an independent non-profit European Co-operative Society (SCE). Its missions are to unite Europe’s highly fragmented media…