Penalties for attacks on journalists will be toughened in North Macedonia, Justice Ministry Bojan Maricic announced on 27 July 2021. The amendments to the Criminal Code are expected to be passed in the early autumn. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliates in North Macedonia, the Independent Trade Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) and the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), in welcoming an important step forward for press freedom in the country. The amendments have come at the request of the journalists’ association and union and will help reduce cases of attacks and threats against…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) monitoring report depicts the alarming trends persons related to the media faced between November 2020 and the end of February 2021. This latest report recorded the highest ever number of attacks on journalists and media workers in Europe and highlighted the key trends exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full report here Compiled by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Press Institute (IPI), with the support of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the report monitored in total 147 alerts in the four-month period (with 256 attacked…

On 20 July, the European Commission published the 2021 Rule of Law Report. The document, which is the outcome of months of painstaking work, can be a valuable tool that empowers civil society, the EU institutions and Member State governments who care about the rule of law in the Union. The Report, comprised of a Communication that covers EU-wide developments and country chapters for each Member State, is designed “as a yearly cycle to promote the rule of law and to prevent problems from emerging or deepening and to address them … It seeks to strengthen the rule of law in…

After two rounds of jury evaluation, the Stars4Media is proud to announce the 185 media professionals, grouped around 30 initiatives, involving 76 media organisations, selected as the beneficiaries of the programme’s second edition. The media partners will now put their projects and ideas into practice, benefitting from co-funding for their innovative proposals while cooperating across borders. The selected initiatives were chosen from the total of 101 submissions, across two Calls for Initiatives. The first call resulted in 17 winning initiatives. “From the 101 proposals received, many more than 30 were innovative and relevant, we hope some others will come back for future competitions’’  stated  prof. Luciano…

The latest Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM2021) report was released on 20 July by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF). It shows an overall deterioration in the situation of media pluralism across Europe compared to last year’s report. MPM2021 also shows that 12 countries do not guarantee decent working conditions for journalists: Albania, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. The MPM2021 is a tool that assesses the risks to media pluralism in 32 European countries; 27 EU member states and 5 candidate countries (each country’s individual report can be accessed…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) held a six-week training course online for union workers on the topic of “Organising and recruiting in challenging times”, taking place from 12 January until 16 February 2021. The training sessions were guided by the ETUI trainers, Ulisses Garrido and Alina Mihaela Caia taking consideration the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the digital transformation in the media and union movement. Here are the course summary and a compilation of the online course materials, resources and learning outcomes. The course materials and exercises are organised in…

The European Commission published its second EU-wide report on the Rule of Law, with a Communication assessing the situation in the EU as well as in dedicated country chapters on each Member State. The report examines new developments since the first report last September and takes into account the impact of the pandemic. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes that the report tackles the deteriorating situation of journalists’ safety as well as obstacles such as lack of transparency or political interference and calls on the Member States to improve the conditions and legislation for media workers. The methodology behind…

In an unprecedented attack on the independent representative organisation of journalists in Belarus, the Belarusain Association of Journalists (BAJ), the Belarusian Ministry of Justice has filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court to liquidate BAJ. The issue was reported on Wednesday by BAJ. BAJ is accused of violating the legislation on associations. The Ministry of Justice suspects irregularities in rental contracts related to BAJ’s regional branches. If the ministry’s request is not answered within the three-day deadline, BAJ could be dissolved by a court decision of the Supreme Court. In reality, BAJ is unable to produce the documents required by…

Following the revelations about the reach and harms of NSO’s Pegasus spyware, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the European Union (EU), the Council of Europe (CoE) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to take action to constrain the global spyware industry. Over the weekend, a global consortium of news organisations joined Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based journalism nonprofit, to reveal how Pegasus turned the phones of journalists, opposition politicians and human rights activists into real-time spying devices. At least 180 journalists across the world have been spied on using Pegasus software, including journalists based…

The Belarusian regime is intensifying its crackdown on journalists and their representative organisation, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ). After searching and sealing BAJ’s offices on 14 July, the authorities blocked the organisation’s bank accounts on Tuesday 20 July. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) denounce the regime’s repeated actions to paralyse their affiliate in Belarus. By the decision of the Investigative Committee, BAJ’s bank accounts have been completely blocked: it is no longer possible to make any payment or register any payment, which paralyses the activity of the independent representative organisation of journalists in Belarus. On 14…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is highly alarmed by the revelations by a consortium led by French NGO Forbidden Stories about the surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and others through the Pegasus spyware program developed by Israeli company NSO Group. The leak, which revealed the involvement of the Hungarian government among others, raises significant implications for journalists’ security and the protection of their sources as well as raising concerns through the chilling effect such applications have on journalists beyond those immediately affected and ultimately, on everyone’s right to information. We call on the Hungarian government and other…

A large crowd of demonstrators against new Covid-19 measures and mandatory vaccination attacked the Cypriot TV station Sigma TV on 18 July. The mob vandalised the station’s headquarters in Nicosia, throwing crackers, breaking windows and damaging cars outside the building. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate, the Union of Cyprus Journalists, in condemning this brutal attack and calling on the authorities to conduct thorough investigations. On Sunday evening, demonstrations against mandatory vaccination took place outside the Presidential Palace in the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia. Groups of protestors clashed with police and at around 9:30 PM local time,…

The raids and detentions conducted by Belarusian authorities on independent media outlets, human rights organizations and think tanks are a harsh escalation of attacks against human rights activists and independent journalists in Belarus. The undersigned organisations condemn the government of Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s relentless crackdown on these groups and demand that Belarusian authorities cease their raids on press and rights organizations and release all those detained. The raids, which started on the 8th and culminated on the 14th of July are yet another escalation in an ongoing repression campaign undertaken by the Belarusian authorities to eliminate civil society in Belarus. The day before…

Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries has died on 15 July at the age of 64, days after being shot five times in the street in Amsterdam in a targeted shooting. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) condemned the murder as another tragic blow to press freedom in Europe. On 6 July, Peter R. de Vries was a guest on daily television programme RTL Boulevard. After leaving the building, he was shot several times at close range, including in the head, in a side street near the studio. The police arrested three suspects. One was later released. Peter R.…

Update (15/07/2021) Peter R. de Vries passed away on 15 July 2021, RTL announced on Twitter.  Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries is fighting for his life in hospital after being shot five times in Lange Leidsedwars street in Amsterdam yesterday evening at around 7.30. The police has arrested three suspects. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) condemned the murder attempt as another tragic blow to press freedom in Europe. On Tuesday evening, Peter R. de Vries was a guest on daily television programme RTL Boulevard. After leaving the building, he was shot several times at close range,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners today in expressing deep concern about the future impartiality and independence of Albania’s Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) following the election of a close associate of the ruling Socialist Party to head the media regulator. On 7 July, the government and its allies voted without the presence of opposition lawmakers in parliament to appoint Armela Krasniqi as the chairwoman of the AMA, the country’s influential TV and radio regulator. Our organisations have serious concerns over the impartiality of the new chairwoman, who is a close associate of…