Following its recent webinar with European Press Councils, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) expressed concern about the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on freedom of information. The EFJ today joined ARTICLE 19 in calling on governments to ensure the public’s right to know in the COVID-19 pandemic. The EFJ and representatives of 17 press and media councils exchanged ideas and discussed in a webinar the impact of the pandemic on journalism. The EFJ expressed concern about access to information for journalists, as well as potential threats or restrictions to freedom of the press due to the crisis. In…

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners are concerned about the increased violence against media professionals at protests and demonstrations across EU Member States and Candidate Countries in the last months and call for increased protection. The recent violent attacks against media workers during demonstrations in Germany, three assaults in a few days, and similar threats witnessed across Europe, are establishing a worrying trend. The right to free assembly and association is a vital underpinning of a modern and pluralist democracy and has itself come under significant threat across Europe. However, threats against the press and media further weakens their ability…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with its affiliate in Sweden Journalistförbundet (SJF) strongly condemned the online smear campaign targeting Swedish cartoonist Mahmoud Abbas since 21 April 2020, following the publication of his cartoon. Cartoonist of Palestinian origin Mahmoud Abbas is residing in Sweden. He is a Swedish citizen. On 20 April 2020, his cartoon about the collapse of international oil prices went viral on Twitter in Saudi Arabia. It shows a person in a Gulf Arab dress and a rolling barrel of oil behind. The character was identified by the audience as crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the cartoon…

There are currently 905 lawsuits filed against journalists and media outlets in Croatia, with plaintiffs claiming almost HRK 68 million, according to the results of an annual survey conducted by the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) earlier this year and published on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd). Out of the 23 surveyed media outlets, 18 have a pending lawsuit for publishing “violation of honour and reputation”. Most lawsuits are filed against Hanza media (Jutarnji list, Slobodna Dalmacija and Sportske novosti), with as many as 502, weighing an average of HRK 100,000. Styria (Večernji list and 24 sata)…

While many European governments use the Covid19 crisis to massively restrict media freedom, the report of a fact-finding mission to Scandinavia shows policies and approaches that can inspire change for the better. Representatives of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) visited Denmark and Sweden from 15 to 18 December 2019. They followed the questions: Why does Scandinavia regularly lead the rankings for media freedom? What can governments and media actors in other countries learn and adopt from this region? In summarising the report, ECPMF’s…

Time to put words into action! Europe’s cultural and creative sectors were among the first and hardest hit by the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. They will also be among the last. Across Europe, almost all cultural activities have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely, while venues and retailers have closed with disastrous consequences for all creators’ and cultural and creative professionals’ livelihoods, as well as the ecosystem as a whole. Millions of jobs are on the line. In its Resolution on how to combat the COVID-19 crisis and its consequences1 , the European Parliament rightly underlines that the cultural and creative sectors “have…