Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, journalist bodies, free expression and journalist support organisations are concerned about the legal threats made against EUobserver in Luxembourg and Belgium and call to stop the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) actions across Europe. Left unreformed, such legal threats will be sufficient to silence media workers and outlets. We stand in solidarity with EUobserver and will continue to monitor developments around the case. In 2019, EUobserver published an article in the English language investigating the actions of a British PR firm, Chelgate, on behalf of the Maltese state. According to the…

Download the policy paper The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined 118 other organisations to demand an EU set of anti-SLAPP measures. The problem: gag lawsuits against public interest defenders The EU must end gag lawsuits used to silence individuals and organisations that hold those in positions of power to account. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) are lawsuits brought forward by powerful actors (e.g. companies, public officials in their private capacity, high profile persons) to harass and silence those speaking out in the public interest. Typical victims are those with a watchdog role, for instance: journalists, activists, informal associations,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), as a partner of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), joined press freedom and freedom of expression organisations, journalists’ organisations, journalists and media workers to condemn threats against journalists in Northern Ireland. We, the undersigned, condemn the threats made by the South East Antrim Ulster Defence Association (UDA) against journalists at the Sunday Life and Sunday World in Northern Ireland. Early in the morning of 8 May, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) visited the homes of a number of journalists to warn them about credible threats, including threats of physical violence against their colleagues…

Launch of the 2020 Annual Report by the partner organisations to the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists Attacks on press freedom in Europe are at serious risk of becoming a new normal, 14 international press freedom groups and journalists’ organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), warn today as they launch the 2020 annual report of the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalists. The fresh assault on media freedom amid the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened an already gloomy outlook. The report analyses alerts submitted to the Platform…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), together with 23 journalists-, press freedom- and civil society organisations, has circulated joint recommendations to the European Commission and the European Parliament Civil Liberty’s (LIBE) Working Group on the Rule of Law, and other interested stakeholders. We believe the new European Rule of Law Mechanism needs strengthening in order to prevent breaches in the EU Member States. In July 2019, the European Commission announced the launch of the European Rule of Law Mechanism: a new policy process aiming to promote rule of law culture and prevent breaches in the European Union (EU), under the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joined coalition in calling on all public authorities to ensure and strengthen whistleblower protection during the state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The signatories to this letter call on all public authorities and institutions to protect those who report or expose the harms, abuses and serious wrongdoing that arise during this period of crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We also encourage all citizens and workers to participate in ensuring our governments, corporate institutions and markets remain accountable, and in defending the human rights and freedoms of all people. The COVID-19…

March 1st marks a new chapter in the support for journalists under threat – it is the start of the Europe-wide rapid response mechanism (RRM) for violations of press and media freedom. The RRM is conducted by a consortium led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom in Leipzig (ECPMF). The Mechanism is designed to mitigate the consequences of the recently observed deterioration of press and media freedom in certain EU Member States and Candidate Countries. The consortium consists of the ECPMF, ARTICLE 19, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Institute for Applied…

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today released its annual report of killings of journalists, detailing 49 deaths worldwide in 2019 (including two in Europe). The world’s largest organisation of journalists reiterated its call for a real commitment by governments to fight impunity for crimes committed against journalists and for media employers to provide safety training, insurance and equipment for their staff in the field. On 31 December 2019, the IFJ published its list of media workers killed in the line of duty, showing 49 journalists killed in 2019, including three women, half as many as in previous years. The report, published on 4 February, provides…

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Several Members of the European Parliament (MEP) urged Maltese Primer Minister, Joseph Muscat, to resign “now”. In a resolution adopted on 18 December, the European Parliament expressed its concern about the “integrity and credibility” of the investigations related to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. It stressed that “any risk of compromising the investigations (…) must be excluded by all means” and warned that this risk will persist for “as long as the Prime Minister remains in office”. MEPs also called on the new Commission “to enter into dialogue with the Maltese Government in the context of the Rule of Law Framework…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joined today the “Europe stands with Malta” demonstration in front of the Maltese Permanent Representation in Brussels, to stand in solidarity with the people of Malta demanding the immediate resignation of the Maltese Prime Minister following his office being implicated in the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Several speakers, including Andrew Caruana Galizia, Maltese MEP David Casa, Tom Gibson (Committee to Protect Journalists), Ricardo Gutiérrez (European Federation of Journalists), Oliver Money-Kyrle (International Press Institute) and Alice Stollmeyer (Defending Democracy), spoke out against injustice and impunity in…

At the conference it is organising in Paris on 6 December, the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) joined forces with other organisations defending press freedom to call on European institutions and governments to adopt effective measures to protect the Fourth estate for the sake of democracy. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the call, emphasising the need to avoid any procedure for certification or labelling of the media, on the pretext of combating misinformation, and the importance of supporting the International Convention on the Safety and Independence of Journalists and Other Media Professionals proposed by the International Federation of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), together with seven other international organisations including ARTICLE 19, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Index on Censorship, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), International Press Institute, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Scottish PEN condemns the further degradation of press freedom in Malta and the continued intimidation of journalists. The statement We, the undersigned organisations, condemn the actions taken by Maltese authorities to restrict press coverage and public scrutiny of the ongoing investigation into the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. We call on Maltese authorities to uphold their international obligations to…

In the plenary session of 13 November, few members of the European Parliament debated about the impunity of crimes against journalists and the importance of protecting journalists in order to have a solid democratic system. In their interventions, all the MEPs agreed to condemn the violence against journalists and the need to find the murderers of the crimes against journalists that remain unsolved in the EU. Although some of them referred to the situation in regions like Latin America or Africa, all of them are aware that journalists are in danger in Europe too. In this sense, they all agreed…

Ahead of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, a UN-recognized day observed annually on 2 November, twelve partner organisations of the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists call on governments to ensure that crimes against journalists are not carried out with impunity. Earlier this week, the case of courageous Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was moved to the Council of Europe’s category of journalists killed with impunity. The three men charged with her murder have yet to be brought to trial, while those who masterminded her assassination…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has participated today at the European Parliament in the workshops and the conference ‘Risking everything to uphold EU values and democracy: protecting journalists in the EU’, organised by Renew Europe Group and Romanian MEP Ramona Strugariu. During the conference, MEP Sophie in’t Veld said that the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia had a significant role and importance. She stated that Malta will only be able to regain press freedom with the end of impunity for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Daphne’s son, Matthew Caruana Galizia, made a tribute to her work and…