The European and the International Federation of journalists, the world and European largest organisations of journalists, have agreed with European news publishers on a new wording to ensure a clear and non negotiable share for journalists of the benefits deriving from the future publishers’ neighboring right, a right that has been introduced in the Proposal for a Directive on copyright in the digital single market which will be voted in the plenary in the European parliament tomorrow, 5th July. The federations urge Members of the European Parliament to give mandate to the legal affairs committee to negotiate on behalf of the…

Following months of debates and controversial discussions, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) adopted today its position on a Proposal for a Directive on copyright in the Digital single market. The International and the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) applauds the positive outcome of the vote regarding the transparency triangle but warns against dangerous provision that are directly affecting journalists’ authors’ rights. The IFJ and EFJ join the voices of European authors’ organisations in welcoming the backing by an overwhelming majority of eurodeputies of the transparency triangle forcing publishers and broadcasters to provide regular reporting on the exploitation…

How to shape the future of journalists’ trade unions and associations in the Western Balkans and Turkey? The EFJ’s Labour Rights Expert Group Plus (LAREG+), composed of representatives from Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey, convened on the 10th of April 2018 in Skopje (Macedonia) to reflect on a one-year strategic plan to improve journalists’ working conditions in the region. This meeting was the last of a series of trainings organised throughout the year 2017-2018 in the framework of the project Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey, financially supported by the UNESCO and the European Union.…

In a statement published today the International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) voice their concerns over the exclusion of journalists’ interests in the ongoing EU debate over a neighbouring right on press publications. These organisations, representing over 300,000 journalists throughout Europe, cannot support the proposal in this form. A European Commission proposal for an EU directive on copyright in the digital single market is currently being discussed in the European Parliament and EU member states. One of the most controversial issues in this text is the introduction of a so-called neighbouring right for press publishers over…

Media freedom in Europe has reached a ”critical turning point” due to dramatic challenges faced by journalists, highlighted Patrick Penninckx, the Head of the Council of Europe Information Society Department in his key note speech at the EFJ Annual Meeting  on 18–19 May in Bucharest, Romania. Around 70 delegates and guests from 30 European countries attended the meeting entitled ‘Journalist under pressure’ and debated about key challenges facing journalists and their unions. The meeting, hosted by the EFJ affiliate in Romania, FAIR MediaSind, pointed out the lack of social dialogue in the media in Romania to guarantee decent working conditions for journalists…

MEP Michal Boni (EPP, Poland) together with The Guardian Media Group launched a discussion ”News: fact or fake?” on March 7 in the European Parliament. During the meeting experts, moderated by a senior editor from the Guardian – Dan Roberts, discussed how the new technologies change the business model of news reporting and how the fake news and filter bubbles do impact  democracy. Michal Boni stated at the beginning of the meeting that it is important to understand how to react to fake news. He explained: “We don’t need censorship tools, instead we need to promote the better understanding of fake…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the campaign launched by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to denounce Agence France Presse’s (AFP) “unacceptable” contracts. AFP is demanding its photographic stringers across the globe, in offices outside of France, to sign contracts which include the full assignment of their authors’ rights without any additional remuneration. The IFJ has condemned such “unfair” practices and is calling for an immediate revision of the standard contracts imposed on photographers working for AFP. The IFJ is also calling on photographers not to sign the contracts as they stand. The EFJ and the IFJ has been campaigning for years against rights grabbing contracts (Further…

In the framework of the two-years project “Rights and Jobs in Journalism”, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) organised on 30 May its last workshop focusing on “Authors’ rights enforcement: Fair contracts for quality journalism” in Brussels. Twenty EFJ members coming from 16 European countries attended the workshop and exchanged best practices on the protection of authors’ rights and way to ensure fair contracts for journalists.  Participants had the opportunity to discuss practical tools in two working groups. The first one, focused on the question of how to secure fair contracts for European journalists, raising the problem of what a fair remuneration might be. In the Netherlands…

How do we bring authors’ rights back to the core of the copyright debate? Where are authors in the EU copyright priorities? How can EU lawmakers ensure that authors get a fair share of their works and do not get ripped of by unfair contracts? To address these questions, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), is partnering with European organisations representing music composers (ECSA), writers (EWC), film directors (FERA) and Screenwriters (FSE) in a key conference on 31 May in Brussels addressing authors’ rights, freedom of expression and digital future. More about the conference: http://creatorsconference.org/home

Despite the travel difficulties to Brussels following the attacks of 22 March 2016, members of the Labour Rights Expert Group (LAREG) of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) continued their meeting in Brussels to discuss the evolution of labour conditions for journalists and media workers in Europe. Thanks to a new EFJ project entitled Building Trust in media in South East Europe and Turkey financially supported by UNESCO and the EU, the LAREG meeting provided a unique opportunity to exchange views between EU and non-EU participants from South Eastern Europe of the EFJ members and discuss recent developments in the media sector…

Full EFJ joint statement with European authors’ group on EU copyright reform plans The European Commission has today published a proposal for the review of the current EU copyright law detailing its action plans for the coming years in the area of copyright and authors’ rights related issues. The (pictured from the left to right) EU Commissioner of Digital Economy and Society Gunther Oettinger, Vice – President of Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip and EU Commissioner of Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Vera Jourova adress a joint press conference on the subject of a Creating Digital Single Market at the EU headquarters in…

The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz has met with a delegation of creators’ organisations including the EFJ President, Mogens Blicher Bjerregård and presidents of the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ESCA), Euroepan Writers Council and the Federation of Europeam Film Directors (FERA) and the European Federation of Screenwriters (FSE) to discuss the upcoming Digital Single Market Strategy being prepared by the European Commission. The delegation highlighted the importance of strong authors’ rights protection in the current intellectual property rights debate, the role of creators in European economy and the need to foster cultural diversity. During the meeting, Blicher…

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…

On 27 May, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) had a constructive meeting with Silvia Costa, the Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education (CULT). Silvia Costa (S&D, Italy) who had signed the EFJ Manifesto, reiterated her strong support for its principles outlined and showed readiness to stand-up for them. As former journalist, Costa discussed with great interest on the various issues: how to improve media ownership transparency, media literacy,  training for journalists, authors’ rights, new financial models and start-ups  for journalists — all within the changing media landscape and its impact on journalists’ work as a…

On 22 -25 May, European citizens have elected their Members of the Parliament to represent them at the new European Parliament. During the election, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has launched a Manifesto calling on all candidate MEPs to commit to the Journalists’ Manifesto for the revival of a free and pluralistic media in Europe. Over 200 MEP candidates have endorsed the EFJ Manifesto by committing themselves to the following TEN principles. Among those MEP candidates who have signed the Manifesto, 50 of them them have been (re-)elected. 1. Democracy needs independent journalism 2. Europe needs media pluralism 3. Rights…

Fair Contracts for Journalists Campaign The growing trend among media organisations to use right-grabbing contracts has become a matter of great concern for the International and the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ). As a result, the IFJ/EFJ have launched a European wide campaign against right-grabbing contracts and demanding fair payments to journalists. Background documents Authors’ rights for all (2000) Droits d’auteur pour tous (2000) Derechos de autores para todos (2000) IFJ/EFJ contracts check list (2009), FR, ES How to enforce journalists’ authors’ rights: I. Inform journalists about their rights The authors’ rights of journalists are protected by international treaties and…