The annual Monitoring Report takes stock of the press freedom situation in 36 European Member States and candidate countries between January to December 2025. During the reporting period, the Mapping Media Freedom database documented 1481 press freedom violations, affecting 2,377 media-related persons or entities. 

The report is structured in four parts: 

  1. A general overview highlighting major issues and trends of the press freedom situation in EU Member States and candidate countries, including quantitative analysis and charts with statistics. 
  2. Three thematic chapters on prominent topics within press freedom in Europe: impunity of crimes against journalists, foreign agent laws and narratives, and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).
  3. Analysis of the press freedom situation in five EU Member States: Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, and Spain.
  4. Analysis of the press freedom situation in six EU candidate countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Türkiye, Georgia, Serbia, and Ukraine. 

This report has been compiled by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and the International Press Institute (IPI) as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) project. The project is co-financed by the European Commission.

Download it here . 

Tags: media freedom Impunity SLAPPS

This content is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response  (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. The project is co-funded by the European Commission.