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’…

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…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the call by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to enforce Council of Europe standards on media freedom. This must be the top priority for the next Secretary General of the Council of Europe, who will be elected in June. Meeting in Strasbourg on 25 January, PACE emphasised the pressing need “to enforce the high standards on media freedom which the Council of Europe has established, to ensure effective protection of journalists and to uphold in all member States a friendly and safe environment for media independence and pluralism”. It…

108 journalists spent New Year’s Eve in prison, according to a count by organisations affiliated to the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalism. While the overall number of journalists detained in Europe has fallen slightly compared to last year (108 instead of 124), repression has increased considerably in certain countries, such as Azerbaijan, where the number of journalists detained has almost quadrupled, as well as in Russia, which this year has become the country that imprisons the most journalists in Europe (40 in total, in Russia and occupied Ukraine). The…

The Local Media for Democracy project (LM4D) is supporting 25 small media outlets and freelance journalist groups from around Europe in the second round of funding. They will receive a total of  €667,854 funding as well as mentorship to strengthen their reach and funding models so that they can better serve their local communities. The 25 media outlets and journalist groups are from: Bulgaria (1), Czech Republic (3), France (2), Greece (1), Latvia (1), Lithuania (2), Poland (6), Portugal (3), Romania (3), Slovakia (1), Slovenia (2) and Spain (1).  The jury, whose identities are anonymous, selected initiatives that operate in…

The European Union is set to miss a critical opportunity to demonstrate that it is on the side of those who hold power to account. The trilogue negotiations concerning the Directive expected to fight Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are coming to a close and the 74 undersigned organisations are sounding the alarm that, in the absence of certain key provisions, the anti-SLAPP Directive will fail to counteract the growing problem of SLAPPs in the EU. These provisions include first and foremost a strong early dismissal mechanism for all SLAPPs. If the Directive fails to ensure that all claims…

As the European Parliament, Council and Commission enter the final negotiations on the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), media freedom and human rights groups today call for the adoption of the Parliament’s text, which, while also in need of further strengthening, is currently the version best equipped to roll back the creeping spread of media capture. The recent elections in Poland underscore the need for a strong EMFA. The opposition won a majority, despite the fact the governing PiS party “enjoyed clear advantage through its undue influence over the use of state resources and the public media”, according to an…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) fully supports the appeal made to the French authorities by more than 180 foreign correspondents of the French media. The EFJ joins its affiliates in France, SNJ, SNJ-CGT and CFDT-Journalistes, in calling on the authorities and employers to take concrete action in favour of these journalists. Here is their appeal: On the occasion of the official launch of the “Etats généraux de l’information” on 3 October in France, more than 180 current and former foreign reporters and correspondents based abroad are calling on the French authorities to address the deterioration in our working conditions.…

Ariane Lavrilleux, the French journalist who in November 2021 revealed the Egyptian government’s complicity in “arbitrary executions”, was taken into police custody at 6 am on Tuesday 19 September. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns this brutal violation of media freedom and the fundamental democratic principle of protecting sources. At six o’clock on Tuesday morning, police officers from the French Directorate-General for Internal Security (DGSI), accompanied by a judge, searched the home of journalist Ariane Lavrilleux, who works for the investigative media Disclose. She was then taken into custody “as part of an investigation into the compromise of national…

On September 4, Aleksandr Lukashenko‘s regime ordered the country’s embassies to stop issuing passports to citizens living abroad. A measure that will directly impact Belarusian journalists in exile and citizens who fled repression. The European and the International Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) join its affiliate, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), in condemning the latest repressive action by the regime to crush free speech and political opposition. The Federations amplify their calls to immediately release the 33 imprisoned journalists in the country. Belarusian citizens who fled the country, including journalists and media workers in exile, are facing increased restrictions by…

The LocalMedia4Democracy project is supporting 17 small local media outlets. These outlets aim to serve the public interest in localities and regions where access to information has significantly decreased in the European Union. This grant scheme is operated by Journalismfund Europe and International Media Support (IMS), and co-funded by the European Commission.  The 17 media outlets are from Belgium (1), Croatia (1), France (2), Hungary (2), Ireland (1), Italy (1), Latvia (1), Lithuania (1), Poland (4), Portugal (1), Romania (1) and Spain (1). The total amount distributed among the 17 proposals was €524.265.  Check the list of the granted media…

On 5 July 2023, the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) was informed by the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media of a particularly repressive draft media law. The task group that had worked on the law did not adopt that document, and the HND officials consider it was almost passed “under the table”. The proposed draft law shows enormous dangers for journalism and freedom of expression.  The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemn the blatant attempt of the Croatian government to stifle the media and to push forward its narrative. We join the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the publication on Wednesday 5 July 2023 of the Report on the Rule of Law by the European Commission. This fourth annual report again highlights the threats to media pluralism and the safety of journalists in EU Member States. This is further proof of the urgent need for a strong European Media Freedom Act and other measures to compel Member States to take action. The fourth EU Rule of Law report features specific recommendations targeted at individual member states. This year, 19 EU countries – compared to 16 last year – have been urged to take measures to…

To the EU Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission On behalf of media freedom, journalists and human rights organizations across Europe, we call upon the European Union institutions to negotiate a strong and effective European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) that can counter media capture and protect editorial independence and media pluralism across Europe. Media freedom is in crisis in many EU countries as populist governments and oligarchs collaborate to misuse powers of the state to bolster propaganda and drown out independent media critics. Increasingly, public broadcasters are turned into propaganda platforms while media regulators are captured by political…

The results of the 2023 Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM), which have just been published, confirm the decline in media pluralism in Europe. Of the 32 countries analysed (the 27 EU Member States and the five candidate countries), barely seven present a satisfactory situation. For the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), this new study confirms the urgent need to considerably strengthen the provisions of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which is currently being examined by the European Parliament. “This scientific study is a real setback for European governments, who have just watered down the EMFA when the evidence shows that…

The Council of the European Union adopted today a common position (general approach) on the so-called Anti-SLAPP directive. This legislation, proposed by the European Commission in 2022, is meant to tackle the growing problem of strategic lawsuits targeting journalists, activists, and other public watchdogs across Europe. However, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) considers that the text, which has been considerably watered down, falls far short of the legislation’s original objective: to protect journalists and the right to information in the European Union. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are a form of legal harassment used to intimidate and silence…