On International Women’s Day, the Gender and Diversity Expert Group (GENDEG) of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) stands in solidarity with the female journalists and media workers risking their lives to inform the world. In various countries around Europe, conflicts and authoritarian regimes are ongoing and many women journalists are on the ground or in exile reporting in extremely difficult conditions. In Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, female journalists are behind bars, physically assaulted, harassed, or exposed to unsafe situations. In Ukraine, at least five female journalists are held in captivity on the Russia-controlled territories, and since February 2022, seven…

On International Women’s Day, MFRR coalition partners publish a critical examination of attacks against women journalists in the European Union and candidate countries To mark International Women’s Day, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) presents an analysis of the troubling attacks against women journalists, in European Union member states and candidate countries. In 2023, female journalists faced a disproportionate number of verbal attacks, especially online. The MFRR partners call for collaborative efforts to protect their rights and foster a society free from discrimination. On International Women’s Day, the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) emphasise the need to…

The smear campaign against Albanian investigative journalist Ola Xama, who works for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), intensified again earlier this month. The news platforms Prapaskena.com and DITA published articles that unleashed a worrisome level of violence with personal attacks, attacks on her family, “slut-shaming” and divulgation of Ola Xama’ private address. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) stands in solidarity with Ola Xama and joins the Safe Journalists Network (SJN) in calling on the media outlets to stop their damaging attacks which have been going on since July 2023. On 13 July 2023, BIRN document-based investigation revealed that…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today launched its Manifesto ahead of the 2024 EU Elections. With the motto “Stand up for journalism as a public good”, the EFJ and its affiliates aim to raise awareness about the need for a strong European Union, committed to working for trade union and human rights, the rule of law, media freedom and media pluralism. “The EFJ is calling upon future EU policymakers to stand up for journalism and journalists in Europe,” said EFJ President Maja Sever. “In the past years, the EU has done more than ever to create a safer and…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in strongly condemning the investigation of three Domani journalists for allegedly receiving confidential documents from a public official and for alleged breaching of secrets through the publication of information contained in those documents. The charges are connected to their reporting on a conflict of interest involving the current Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto. The journalists face up to 5 years in prison under Italian criminal law. Our organisations call for the investigation to be dropped immediately. No journalist investigating matters of public interest, or their sources,…

Leaders of more than 100 news and journalists’ organisations across the world, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), have joined an open letter (full text below) affirming their solidarity with journalists reporting in Gaza. The letter, coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) with the support of the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), demonstrates strong and unified support for colleagues reporting from Gaza in the deadliest conflict for journalists ever documented. “For nearly five months, journalists and media workers in Gaza – overwhelmingly, the sole source of on-the-ground reporting from within the Palestinian territory – have been…

The unlawful deployment of spyware against journalists, the use of abusive lawsuits against journalists to hamper their investigative work (SLAPPs) and the precarious situation of many journalists in exile, notably from Russia and Belarus, are some of the main concerns expressed by the European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) and the other partner organisations to the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists in their 2024 annual report. Released under the title “Press Freedom in Europe: Time to turn the Tide”, the report assesses the major issues undermining press freedom – including threats and intimidation,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the SafeJournalists Network and the Media Freedom Rapid Response partners in strongly condemning the behaviour of the local authorities in Indjija, Serbia, who forcibly removed the journalist Verica Marincic from the municipality building and prevented her from doing her job. We appeal to the competent authorities to investigate this incident in which the journalist was injured. The journalist of the In media portal from Indjija, Verica Marincic, was kicked out of the Indjija municipality building because she “wasn’t on the list” to monitor the conference regarding the residents’ protest against the abolition of…

To mark the two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) conversed with Serhiy Shturkhetskyy, chairperson of the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU) to examine how the reality of Ukrainian journalists have changed and what the journalistic community and sister unions can do to continue supporting journalists on the ground. How is the situation on the ground and how do you feel? The situation remains dire. With a devastated economy, cities raised to the ground and occupied, families divided, constant rocket and drone attacks, there is no place in…

The study “Uncovering news deserts in Europe. Risks and opportunities for local and community media in the EU” by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) was published today. This research detects challenges and opportunities for local and community media in the 27 EU Member States, analysing the news deserts phenomenon from a holistic perspective. A network of researchers spanning all the 27 EU Member States ran the investigation, using the methodology developed by CMPF. They assessed risks based on 55 variables that relate to the local media market conditions; local journalists’ safety and working conditions, local outlets’…

Spanish freelance reporter Pablo González is the only journalist imprisoned in an EU member state. On 28 February, it will be two years since he was arrested and held in pre-trial detention in Poland without any evidence of the allegations against him being made public and no trial in sight. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ), together with their Spanish affiliates, urge the Polish authorities to release him, so that he can defend himself in court, and ensure that he receives a fair trial. A Polish court extended González’s pre-trial detention for the eighth time on 15 February…

As the next hearing of Turkish journalist Dicle Müftüoğlu approaches on February 29, 2024, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined International media freedom and human rights organisations in calling for immediate attention to her case and her unjust detention. Müftüoğlu, Co-Chair of the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFGD), has been wrongfully held for over nine months on unsubstantiated terrorism charges in a case that starkly violates international legal standards and media freedom. Case Overview: A Miscarriage of Justice Müftüoğlu’s arrest occurred during a broader crackdown on Kurdish activists and politicians by the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office in April 2023. The…

The European Parliament today adopted with an overwhelming majority (546 in favour, 47 against, 31 abstentions) the Anti-SLAPP Directive, intended to protect journalists and media outlets from abusive litigations. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the organisations of the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) in welcoming an important step in the fight against SLAPPs, but regrets the considerable room for manoeuvre left to the Member States on several crucial points. “Some refer to this law as Daphne’s law (Daphne Caruana Galizia) and I think it’s important to mention it here in this room named after Daphne. We achieved…

French journalist Antoine Galindo was arrested on 22 February and subsequently detained in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while on assignment for Africa Intelligence, the news platform for whom he was working. The International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) together with their French affiliates the Syndicat National des Journalistes (SNJ), the Syndicat National des Journalistes CGT (SNJ-CGT), CFDT-Journalistes and the Syndicat Général des Journalistes Force Ouvrière (SGJ-FO) condemn Galindo’s arrest and call on the Ethiopian authorities to immediately release him. They ask the French government to do everything it can to help Galindo. Following his arrest by authorities in civilian…

As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, Sergiy Tomilenko, president of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and EFJ Steering Committee member reflects on two years of unwavering work and relentless determination to support journalists and media workers on the ground, with the help of international partners such as the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and UNESCO. On 24 February, it will be two years since the war in Ukraine started and Tomilenko recalls the imperative need to raise more funds in a war that rages on, despite vanishing from the…

February 24 marks two years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today, the organizations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) reaffirm our solidarity with Ukrainian journalists and call for guarantees of their safety and full freedom to report, as well as a renewed effort to provide the necessary financial and technical support for them to continue their work. Over the past two years, Ukraine’s journalists have demonstrated incredible courage and resilience in covering the horrors of this war for their communities and the outside world, often at great personal sacrifice. We call for continued international support…