2022 Rule of Law Report: country chapter on the rule of law situation in Romania - Reports

The Rule of Law Report is an annual document produced by the European Commission from 2020. It aims at addressing issues such as the state of the judiciary, freedom of the media, corruption, and other questions which have emerged as crucial for a comprehensive analysis of the state of rule of law across the EU

A joint statement on the European Media Freedom Act - Article

Along with 17 organisations, OBCT signs a joint statement to address issues around the forthcoming draft proposal for a European Media Freedom Act 

Romania: a joint letter on the case of Emilia Șercan - Article

OBCT joins a group of media freedom organisations in a letter to Romanian authorities concerning the case of Emilia Șercan. We express our concern about the delay in the investigations into the publication of her stolen photos and the alleged leak of key elements of the investigation into this offense. Romanian translation is available below

Spain: Fine against photographer underscores urgent need for reform of Gag Law - Article

Media freedom organisations urge the Spanish government to undertake a reform of the controversial Ley Mordaza in line with international human rights standards

Council conclusions on the protection and safety of journalists and other media professionals - Legal Resources

At the General Affairs Council of 21 June 2022, the Council of the European Union approved conclusions on the protection and safety of journalists and media professionals

Temporary Relocations. A toolkit - Article

This summary of issues, open questions, recommendations, and suggestions on how to implement a residency programme for journalists under pressure is the result of OBCT research consulting existing literature and conducting several interviews with managers and beneficiaries. This 10-page document goes through the main aspects of the implementation of a journalists-in-residence programme, highlighting 19 issues that are considered to be the most problematic and interesting at the same time. The toolkit is also accessible as a pdf.

Curated by Paola Rosà, May 2022

Turkey: international groups call on parliament to reject the “disinformation” bill as a tool of digital censorship - Article

Law designed to expand censorship online and criminalize free flow of information

PATFox: training for lawyers to identify SLAPPs - Article

Pioneering anti-SLAPP Training for Freedom of Expression seeks to train the lawyers defending journalists and media organisations, NGOs and activists against companies and governmental figures using lawfare to shut down legitimate criticism

Monitoring Media Pluralism in the Digital Era: Italy - Reports

The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is a tool developed by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom to assess the risks to media pluralism in 32 European countries (27 EU Member States and 5 candidate countries). We present the results of the Italian chapter

Renate Schroeder, EFJ: Why we need a strong Media Freedom Act in Europe - Article

An analysis by the Director of the European Federation of Journalists