European Federation of Journalists

Media Freedom Rapid Response

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is a partner of Media Freedom Rapid Response project (MFRR) aiming to promote an independent, pluralistic media landscape, to safeguard media workers, especially harassed female media workers and to protect the rights of journalists. The RRM helps to mitigate the consequences of the recently observed deterioration of media freedom in several European Union, Member States and Candidate Countries.

Overall Objective

The overall objective of this project is to provide practical support for journalists to improve media freedom in Europe.

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is designed to detect, answer and prevent violations of press and media freedom. It consists of three layers: monitoring, categorisation, responses.

Specific objectives

1. Mapping Media Freedom (MMF) in Europe (EU & Candidate Countries): Media violations are on the rise especially under the current coronavirus crisis. One of the key components of the project is to monitor and document a wide range of media violations conducted by any actors, whether individuals, state actors or business, so that actions can be taken rapidly to address the violations.

2. Practical supports: Based on the media violations reported, the project offers a wide range of immediate to long-term, practical support ranging from legal help, safety advice and training, safe house for journalists, advocacy and mission, and online resources. You could find more information about the legal support here and more details about safe house for journalists here.

3. Advocacy & Trial Monitoring: Joint media advocacy will also be carried out by the project including joint statements, national missions (in Czech Republic, Hungry, Spain, Serbia), roundtable advocacy meetings with EU policy-makers. The EFJ will involve the relevant national members when carrying out such national missions. Trial Monitoring especially for Turkey, Malta (for the case of Daphne Caruana Galizia) and Slovakia (for the case of Ján Kuciak) will be carried out and participated by the project partners to help find justice for journalists who are put in jails or murdered.

Anyone can submit and report a media violation to the MMF platform online.

Actions

Joint letter to EU: Current visa policies obstruct Turkish journalists’ mobility

In a letter to the European Institutions, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined other press freedom, freedom of expression, journalists’ and human rights organisations, in calling for the establishment of a targeted “visa corridor” for recognised media professionals and those holding international press memberships. The undersigned organisations are writing following the recent press freedom mission to Türkiye by International Press Institute and a coalition of seven other international organisations, addressing an urgent matter that was raised repeatedly during meetings with media stakeholders in the country: the critical contradiction between the European Union’s commitment to support independent media in candidate states…

Serbia: Coordinated smear campaign by the Centre for Social Stability requires urgent response from authorities

Over the past month, the Centre for Social Stability, a non-governmental organisation known for targeting independent journalists, intensified its ongoing smear campaign against Veran Matić, President of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) and member of the Permanent Working Group on the Safety of Journalists. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) strongly condemns these shameful attacks and calls on Serbian authorities to respond promptly by launching an investigation into the Center for Social Stability. On 18 March 2026, the Centre for Social Stability incited hostility towards ANEM President  Veran Matić on its social media, with a declaration dangerously echoing…

Serbia: Media freedom mission to probe longstanding challenges and advocate for reform

On 26-27 March 2026, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will join its partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and of the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists, to conduct a mission to Serbia. Against the backdrop of ongoing challenges to media pluralism and increasing attacks and pressure on independent journalists – particularly in the wake of nationwide protests following the Novi Sad tragedy on 1 November 2024 – as highlighted by the recently launched 2025 Europe Press Freedom report of the CoE Platform partners, and the 2025  MFRR Monitoring…

Mission to Italy: MFRR flags ongoing media freedom erosion

Media freedom in Italy has continued its overall downward trajectory in the past two years, amidst the car bomb attack on one of the country’s most famous journalists, new spyware attacks on reporters, politicisation of the public broadcaster, legal harassment of journalists by governing politicians, and continued concerns over media pluralism, partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) said today. The findings of the MFRR consortium, shared at a press conference in Rome following a follow-up advocacy mission on 9-10 March, conclude that since our organisations’ previous visit to Italy in 2024 the climate for press freedom and…

Women’s Day: Gender-based violence, a growing weapon against women journalists

To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today in publishing alarming data highlighting how women journalists across Europe continue to face enhanced risk through systematic gender-based violence in the past year. Our 2025 monitoring documented 53 cases of gender-based violence targeting women media professionals across EU Member States and candidate countries, including online smear campaigns, threats of sexual violence and derogatory comments about physical appearance. This data, recorded on the MFRR’s Mapping Media Freedom platform, reaffirms that women journalists are disproportionately affected by gender-based…

North Macedonia: Appeal court ruling on Investigative Reporting Lab a worrying setback for media freedom

A recent defamation decision by the Court of Appeal in North Macedonia against the Investigative Reporting Lab (IRL) is a worrying development for media freedom in the country which should be overturned on further appeal, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) said today. At a public hearing before the Court of Appeal in Skopje on 26 February, the court ruled against IRL’s appeal and upheld the defamation verdict previously handed down to the media outlet and its editor-in-chief Saška Cvetkovska. IRL is an independent and non-profit investigative media platform and a local partner of the Organized…