An IFJ/EFJ delegation met with Pirate Party MEP Julia Reda this morning to discuss her report on the implementation of the “infosoc” directive on copyright and related rights in the information society and the directive on trade secrets for which she was appointed as shadow rapporteur for the Greens EP group. The delegation was composed of EFJ President Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez and IFJ/EFJ authors’ rights officer Pamela Morinière. The IFJ and the EFJ expressed its strong rejection of the trade secret directive. “You were right to vote against the current version of the text,” Ricardo…

A group of international press freedom and professional organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), completed on Friday a three-day high-level mission to Spain, where a controversial new law on public security is set to take effect on July 1. In a series of meetings in Madrid, the group, led by the International Press Institute (IPI) and including representatives from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Madrid-based Platform for the Defence of Free Expression (PDLI), as well as independent legal and regulatory experts, urged Spanish political parties to include key press…

According to the Association of Polish Journalists (Stowarzyszenie Dziennikarzy Polskich, SDP), an affiliate of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Polish journalist Lukasz Masiak (31) working for the popular local newsportal NaszaMlawa.pl has been beaten to death in the night of 13 to 14 June 2015 in the city center of Mlawa, a town located in north-central Poland. “Lukasz Masiak was an esteemed and courageous journalist working for a local newsportal. We are very sadened to learn his death and deeply concerned that decisive response of law enforcement authorities comes only after the murder of the journalist,” said the SDP representative. “We send our…

“The country is going through a time in history whereby the concept of “criticism” has lost its substance. Any opinion opposing the views and positions of the politically powerful and not praising them are perceived as an “insult” or “defamation”. Any political dissent is subjected to intimidation. Triggered by this attitude, negative effects on political and social polarization has reached all segments of the society as well as the social life including publishing,” states a new report published this week by the Turkish Publishers Association (TYB). Although focusing mainly on freedom to publish for book writers and authors, the report also shows significant interest for…

Attending the Deutsche Welle’s Global Media Forum 2015 in Bonn (22/06/2015), the European Commissioner Günther Oettinger referred in his speech to “media freedom and pluralism” as a “crucial value for the EU”. To give examples of concrete steps, the Commissioner mentioned different EU projects involving the active participation of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). “Whether a media outlet is so-called traditional or online, media practitioners will always have to be warranted the right to report facts and offer their views and opinions. Political pressure, economic hardship, physical attacks against journalists, restrictive legislation, and a general financial crisis in the sector all influence…

Editorial  “Medal” for Azerbaijan for being leading jailer of journalists Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, EFJ President As the host of the first European Games, Azerbaijan has certainly won the “medal”, even before the opening of the game, for its reputation as one of the leading jailers of journalists and its hostile treatments towards journalists and media. While local journalists are being put behind bars for their critical voices, many foreign journalists are barred from entering the country to report about the Games. The press freedom situation is at its worst on record when Azerbaijan ordered to shut down the office of…