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

Slovakia: Profound disappointment as suspected mastermind in Ján Kuciak murder acquitted again

Following today’s acquittal of the suspected mastermind in the killing of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned international media freedom organisations in expressing our profound disappointment, renewing our calls for justice and conveying our steadfast solidarity with the families of Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. This acquittal of businessman Marian Kočner, which was announced earlier today following a retrial at the Specialized Criminal Court, represents another devastating blow to the fight for full justice for Ján and Martina’s killing. The judges voted 2:1 to find Kočner not guilty of ordering the…

Italy: Far-right executive takes control of public broadcaster RAI

A new CEO, Roberto Sergio, has been appointed at the Italian public broadcaster RAI on 15 May 2022, following the resignation of Carlo Fuortes and various political pressure on journalists. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Italian affiliates, the FNSI and USIGRai, in denouncing a political takeover of RAI, which seriously endangers the public broadcaster’s independence. On Monday 8 May, the head of Italy’s public broadcasting group RAI, Carlo Fuortes, appointed by the previous government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, announced his resignation. Fuortes justified his departure by saying that he was being pressured by his supervisory authorities.…

Serbia: Independent journalism faces biggest crisis in years

Following a visit to Belgrade on April 10 and 11 2023 to commemorate the murder anniversary of editor and publisher Slavko Ćuruvija, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the undersigned international press freedom and journalists’ organisations in issuing a stark warning over the state of media freedom and journalists’ safety in Serbia. Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, our shared conclusion is that 24 years after the murder of Ćuruvija in 1999, poor conditions for the safety of journalists, the weak landscape for the rule of law, media capture and a festering climate of hostility towards critical reporting mean that the…

Turkey: We demand the release of Kurdish journalists, lawyers, party officials detained in pre-election crackdown

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined media freedom, freedom of expression, and human rights organisations in calling on Turkish authorities to stop the systematic harassment and intimidation of Kurdish journalists, media workers, media outlets, the lawyers that defend them, and Kurdish political party officials, give them access to legal counsel, disclose full details of charges brought and to ensure that they are released from detention. We reiterate the need for a free and pluralistic media atmosphere in the run-up to the elections that will be held on 14 May 2023. On 25 April, coordinated dawn raids in Turkey targeted…

Greece: MFRR to fund legal appeal for lawsuit against Alterthess

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today in expressing dismay over the recent court ruling involving a SLAPP lawsuit against independent Greek media outlet Alterthess and one of its journalists, Stavroula Poulimeni. Using the MFRR Legal Support fund, our consortium will help provide funding to cover legal fees for their appeal. In early 2023, a court in Athens partially accepted the civil lawsuit filed by the former high-ranking executive of a gold mining company, Hellas Gold, and ordered the cooperative media outlet to pay a total of €3,000 in…

Turkey: Broadcast regulator must stop punishing critical reporting ahead of elections

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response and 20 press freedom, freedom of expression and human rights organisations in calling on Turkey’s broadcast regulator (RTÜK) to immediately stop fining broadcasters for their critical reporting. Journalists and broadcasters must be allowed to do their jobs of informing the public over critical issues and holding the government to account. Instead of upholding freedom of expression and media pluralism in the country, RTÜK is being weaponised by the governing parties to silence legitimate criticism and provide them with an unfair advantage in the May 2023…