The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the announcement on 4 June 2025 of the Hungarian ruling party Fidesz to postpone the vote on the draft law on foreign-funded organisations until the autumn. The decision came a day after the EFJ General Meeting in Budapest, which took place on 2-3 June in the presence of Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony and OSCE High Representative on Freedom of the Media Jan Braathu. The EFJ continues to demand the withdrawal of this bill without further delay. Due to be passed in mid-June, the bill, entitled ‘Transparency in Public Life’, gives the government the…

European journalists’ organisations meeting in Budapest (Hungary) on 2-3 June 2025, on the occasion of the EFJ General Meeting (GM), denounced the ongoing crackdown by the Hungarian government on independent media, journalists and LGBTIQ people with the adoption of two resolutions. Co-organised by the EFJ Hungarian affiliates HPU and MUOSZ, the GM took place in a context of unprecedented repression against fundamental values and freedom, as the Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán presented a draft of a new foreign funding bill, on 13 May. If passed, this legislation would effectively represent the first foreign agent-style law in the…

Speech by Maja Sever (EFJ President) on 2 June 2025. Dear colleagues, dear friends, Welcome to Budapest and to the Elective General Meeting of the European Federation of Journalists. First, my sincere thanks to our hosts, the Hungarian Press Union, the National Association of Hungarian Journalists, and the Hungarian Confederation of Trade Unions, for making this gathering possible at such a critical moment. Because this is not just another meeting. This is a message. Our sign that we stand with our colleagues in Hungary and with free journalism and democracy. We are gathered in a country where independent journalism is…

On 16-17 June 2025, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will be hosting a workshop entitled “Mental wellbeing: an invisible crisis in journalism” in Namur, Belgium, as part of the Stand up for Journalism (SUJ) project in partnership with the Association of professional journalists (AJP, Belgium). The workshop will focus on  It will feature insightful speakers from across Europe, including journalists, media professionals, and experts. This workshop is the fourth in a series of five thematic capacity-building workshops. The first workshop was held in Istanbul in September 2024, addressing collective bargaining strategies for freelancers. The second took place in Vichy,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will hold its elective general meeting in Budapest, Hungary, on 2-3 June 2025. More than 120 journalists and trade union representatives from 38 European countries will meet and elect the leadership of the federation for the next three years. This is the first time in the history of the EFJ that the organisation holds a statutory meeting in Hungary. Budapest was chosen as the host city of the EFJ congress, representing 295,000 journalists through 73 journalists’ organisations across 44 countries in Europe. Co-organised by the Hungarian Press Union (HPU) and the Association of Hungarian…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), along with two of its affiliates (APJA and AGSH), joined the SafeJournalists Network (SJN) to raise alarm over recent reports of alleged violations of journalists’ labour rights at ABC News Albania, one of the main private television. Information received from numerous journalists indicates that ABC News management may have unilaterally and without prior notice initiated changes to employment contracts, replacing regular agreements with freelance contracts. These changes have reportedly affected up to ten journalists, including reporters, correspondents, and camera operators, across Albania. Fearing retaliation from management, local stakeholders, and negative media reports, the journalists…