Romania: concern about abusive legal action by former bishop against journalists and outlets - Article

The undersigned civil society organisations are concerned about the legal action taken by a former bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church against The Centre for Investigative Media (CIM), Dela0.ro and three journalists, in relation to their reporting on alleged sexual abuse. We consider the proceedings have many of the characteristics of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) and hope the courts will deal with them swiftly with due respect for European human rights law and standards

MFRR raises concerns over increasing meddling in independence of Czech public broadcaster - Article

The partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) express their serious concern over the latest efforts by the ruling ANO party and its allies to further politicise the oversight body of the Czech public broadcaster.

We are worried that the slow-motion yet obvious efforts to stack the Council of the Czech TV (ČT Council) are ultimately aimed at the erosion of the public television’s independence and politically-motivated realignment of its news and opinion programming

Media Freedom in Poland, Hungary and Slovenia - Article

Statement to Members of the European Parliament ahead of the March 10 debate: ‘Government's attempt to silence free media in Poland and in Hungary’. The partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response sent this letter:

Country factsheet: Bulgaria - Article

Called "the black sheep of EU media freedom", Bulgaria faces a lot of issues related to freedom of expression and safety of journalists. Here a detailed overview made by OBCT journalist Francesco Martino, who lives in Sofia

European Cross-border Grants - Article

Journalismfound.eu is launching the next grant: cross-border teams of professional journalists can apply for a grant to cover working time and/or expenses for their investigation

MFRR letter to Charles Michel: time for EU Member States to act to protect journalists - Article

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) sent a letter to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel in expressing serious concern about the sharp decline in freedom of the press in the European Union

Malta: Threats to the independence of the public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia must stop - Article

16 December marks 38 months since Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in Malta, yet barriers to justice remain as Maltese official continue to threaten the public inquiry set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding her murder. A statement signed by MFRR

Freelance Journalism Assembly - Training

The Freelance Journalism Assembly is a programme designed to connect and empower freelance journalists in Europe. The Assembly will include online training sessions, one-on-one mentorship activities, networking opportunities and a major event to be held in 2021. At the Assembly, freelance journalists will acquire skills and build connections to help them face their professional and personal challenges

France tramples on press freedom - Article

MFRR partners join International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ), and their French affiliates, the SNJ, SNJ-CGT, CFDT-Journalists calling on the French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, to withdraw three articles from the “Global Security” law

Country factsheet: Hungary - Article

In 2020, a number of threats to media pluralism and transparency have continued to further marginalise and threaten media freedom across Hungary. Due to the expansion of pro-Government outlets and the weaponisation of government advertising, most Hungarian citizens receive news only from pro-government outlets. With this kind of control, there is no need to directly attack critical journalists, as they are excluded from the media market. Moreover, the coronavirus crisis had arguably the biggest effect on media freedom