Wednesday, 7 January 2015 is the darkest day in journalism in Europe. The brutal attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris was also an attack on all of us. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, friends and colleagues. It is hard to believe that such a horror could happen in Europe. The attack confirms that we must continue to safeguard and defend freedom of expression and press freedom as the fundamental pillars of our democracy. This was a direct attack on our freedom and the fundamental values that we hold dearly in our societies. The attack…

The European Federation of Journalists, in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)  and the European Newspaper Publishers Association (ENPA), will organised a lunch debate on freedom of speech and the media in the wake of the Paris shooting at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. We will discuss how journalists and media should feed the debate, and discuss the conditions needed for them to work freely. Social cohesion, media independence, ethical codes, self-regulation and editorial lines are at stake when dealing with highly sensitive and emotional subjects. How can journalists express their opinions, inform and capture the mood of their…

In collaboration with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the French journalists’ unions SNJ, SNJ-CGT and CFDT-Journalistes have opened a bank account to help the families of journalists who were killed during the attack to Charlie Hebdo, last Wednesday. Below you will find all the bank data for us to exercise the core mission of our international work: solidarity to journalists in all their needs.   SOLIDARITE CHARLIE HEBDO IBAN FR76 3006 6106 7100 0103 3550 376 BIC (Swift): CMCIFRPP Mention: « Je suis Charlie »   Many thanks for your solidarity. The IFJ, the EFJ, SNJ,…

According to a recent survey publish by the EFJ affiliate, the Journalists’ Trade Union of Azerbaijan (JuHI), the general working and social conditions for journalists have improved significantly with an average increase of 15% in their pay. However, the conditions for journalists working in regional media remains low as the increase is only for journalists working for national media. The survey has asked 100 journalists from 25 national newspapers, 5 news agencies, 5 news portals,  10 weekly newspapers (7 regional, 3 national), 5 TV Channels (3 regional and 2 national), about their pay conditions, contractual relationship, social and health insurance…

There were more than a million of supporters last Sunday on the streets of Paris. Citizens of all backgrounds and beliefs came together to defend freedom of expression, following the terrorist attack that killed 17 people in France and  destroyed the whole team of the satirical weekly “Charlie Hebdo” on Wednesday 7 January. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and their French affiliates, SNJ, SNJ-CGT and CFDT-Journalists were leading the march behind a banner, alongside with EFJ affiliates from United Kingdom and Ireland (NUJ), Italy (FNSI), Spain (FAPE and FeSP), Belgium (AJP), the Netherlands…

  CV Graduated from Moscow State University, Faculty of Journalism. PhD in journalism, Moscow State University. Worked in ” Ogonyok” national  magazine, symbol of Gorbachov perestroyka, “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” (Independent). Since 2003- executive Secretary of Russian Union of Journalists. Member of Russian PEN, member of Union of Russian Writers, co-founder of Association of Women Journalists and International women’s magazine ” We/Myi”. In 2013 elected Vice president of EFJ. Participant of number of International  projects and programs on gender, human rights, safety of journalists  and freedom of expression under UNESCO, UN, OSCE umbrella. In 2014-2016- Russian coordinator of  Dialogue of professional organizations of…

This story is developing. We will continue to update it as we gather more information. Meanwhile, we are gathering solidarity messages sent from jounalists, journalists’ unions, NGOs and supporters in Europe and around the world. Read and send your solidarity message at the commentary box of this post at the bottom of this page. Updates: Brussels’ press corps pays tribute to Charlie Hebdo journalists. See video from Belga : #JeSuisCharlie in Thessaloníki. @EFJEUROPE attends. pic.twitter.com/3AZ5MmCdOl — Yannis Kotsifos (@YannisKotsifos) January 8, 2015 08/01/2014: In this video, Belgian cartoonists (Kroll, Cécile Bertrand, Sondron, Marec, Samuel, Dubus,…) were joined by AGJPB-ABVV (Journalists…

Solidarité avec les proches des victimes. Minute de silence devant le siège de #CharlieHebdo #NousSommesCharlie pic.twitter.com/Z5oKrMbQEx" — SNJ (@SNJ_national) January 8, 2015   This Thursday at noon, several hundred journalists and citizens gathered in front of the editorial office of Charlie Hebdo, at the invitation of SNJ, SNJ-CGT and CFDT, the three journalists unions affiliated to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). Addressing the crowd, Anthony Bellanger, Deputy General Secretary of the IFJ said, “We are gathered here to pay tribute to our colleagues in Charlie Hebdo who were killed on Wednesday. We…

One day after the anti-terror police interrogation imposed to journalist Fréderike Geerdink for some messages sent on Twitter, another Dutch journalist has been arrested today (07/01/2015) and will have to answer question for a picture taken in 2013 with a smartphone during a press trial. The Dutch-Turkish journalist Mehmet Ülgur has been arrested today at the airport in Istanbul (Turkey). The NVJ (Dutch Association of Journalists) has immediately reacted and informed the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs about this new case. “Mr Koenders (Dutch minister of Foreign Affairs) is still in Turkey. Maybe that can make a difference”, hopes the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) participated, early December, to a four-day international mission to Madrid and Barcelona led by the International Press Institute (IPI). The mission sought to gauge the level of press freedom, freedom of expression and the right of access to information in Spain. Our colleague Paco Audije followed the work of the mission, as a member of the EFJ Steering Committee and member of the EFJ expert group on broadcasting (BREG). The mission report will probably be released at the end of January. Here are the conclusions of the representative of the EFJ, focused on the situation of…

The Dutch journalist Fréderike Geerdink, permanent female media correspondent in Turkey for several media outlets (The Independent & Al Monitor), has been arrested today (06/01/2015) by a group of Turkish police anti-terrorism unit. “Terrorism police just searched my house, team of 8 guys. They take me to the station now, charge [sic]: ‘propaganda for terrorist organization”, wrote Geerdink on Twitter reporting about her own arrest. Fréderike Geerdink is specialised in the Kurdish issue (www.kurdishmatters.com), she wrote a new book about the Roboski massacre, she lives and works in the city of Diyarbakir. During the past few days, she was receiving…

The Danish Journalists’ Union will hold a one-day workshop in Copenhagen on 11 May on unions’ recruitment strategies and new services. (More information to come)

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has joined the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) today to demand the Russian authorities to halt the advertising law entering into force on 1 January 2015 and prevent the closure of independent broadcaster TV-2. The new law that has been approved by President Vladimir Putin will affect many independent Russian television channels by stripping them off their main source of income – advertising revenues. “The new law will lead to many closures of media organisations, in particular small and medium-size independent media companies,” warns Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, EFJ President, “This will lead to a…

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ), an EFJ affiliate in the United Kingdom, has staged a protest today outside the Downing Street in London calling for press freedom in Turkey. Barry White, NUJ representative to the European Federation of Journalists  said “The government  must not remain silent to these abuses. Last year saw a drop in the number of journalists in prison, a welcome move, but this latest attack by the authorities shows that they have come back for more. We will continue to campaign for freedom of expression and the right to report by standing in solidarity with our…

The new issue of the EFJ Focus is now available in English. The German and the French version will soon be available.   To subscribe, simply click HERE. If you missed the previous issues, see our archives. (Photo Credit : Zaman UK Newspaper)

The EFJ has today welcomed in Brussels a delegation composed from the Turkish Publishers Association, the Swedish Publishers’ Association, the International Publishers Association and EMHRN. The working group’s agenda was focused on the legal framework in terms of freedom to publish in Europe, examples of restrictions and bans in the EU countries, the experience of European organizations in terms of freedom to publish in the context of the Western Balkans enlargement. The working group compared strategies, discussed concrete examples of advocacy tactics and ways to monitor the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice…