Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) - Stakeholders

The Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) is a watchdog that safeguards the human rights of everyone in the European Union.

The team is made up of experts in human rights and communications.

Liberties works closely with a network of members in Brussels and across 18 EU countries and is registered as a non-governmental organisation in Berlin with a presence in Brussels.

Here the description ot its methods:

First, we use advocacy. This means we use our expertise to explain to people working in the EU institutions and national governments why and how they should uphold human rights.

Second, we help our members litigate. That means we give our members expertise on EU law to use in court cases, and we help our members take cases simultaneously in different EU countries.

Third, we use public mobilisation. We talk directly to you, the public, about the problems we’re working on so you can spread the word and help us put pressure on the EU and national governments to solve them.

Union of Cyprus Journalists - Stakeholders

The Union of Cyprus Journalists  was founded in 1960 and has now 560 members comprising "all the professional journalists working in the country" as proudly stated in its webpage.

The Union aims at strengthening the freedom of the press and safeguarding independent journalism. It is an active member of the European Federation of Journalists.

Professional journalists with at least six months service are eligible to join the Union, regardless of ethnic origin, race and religion.

European Commission - Stakeholders

The European Commission plays an active role in supporting freedom and pluralism of media inside EU Member states, in the Enlargement countries and in its external relations.

The DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology (DG Connect) manages the EU Digital Agenda promoting transparency, freedom and diversity in Europe's media landscape. On the DG Connect web page dedicated to media freedom and pluralism you can find several acts, documents and studies on the subject.

The DG Enlargement (DG NEAR) incorporates media freedom and pluralism as principles in the Enlargement negotiation. The European Commission's annual strategy on EU enlargement highlights freedom of expression and media as one of the most important challenges for the countries aspiring to EU membership. Important events sanctioning this commitment are the SpeakUp! Conferences on freedom of expression in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

Council of Europe - Stakeholders

The Council of Europe (CoE) is Europe's leading human rights organization seated in Strasbourg (France). The Convention on Human Rights, signed by all 47 CoE member states, is an international treaty designed to ensure the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights, a CoE organ, ensures the implementation of the treaty. The CoE work is organized through committees working on more specific topics within the vast field of Human rights, while the commissioner for Human Rights is an impartial institution established by the Council of Europe in 1999.

The Committee of experts on protection of journalism and safety of journalists (MSI-JO) is an inter-governmental committee operating within the Council of Europe. The MSI-JO mandate is to work on the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists and other media actors, taking account of the implementation of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists. official website

 The Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media focuses on issues relating to culture, science, education, youth, sport and media in Europe. It has tree sub-commitees among which the Sub-Committee on Media and Information Society. official website

The Commissioner for Human Rights is an impartial and non-judicial institution established by the Council of Europe in order to to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the 47 member states. His/Her main activities include country visits, conducting studies and giving advice on systematic human rights work, as well as rising awareness of topics related to human rights. official website

European Parliament - Stakeholders

The European Parliament (EP) is an Organ of the European Union (EU) that is seated in Strasbourg (France) and Brussels (Belgium) and whose members are directly elected by voters in all Member States to represent people’s interests with regard to EU law-making and to make sure that other EU institutions are working democratically. EP's work is takes place in plenary sessions as well as in Committees on more specific topics.

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) is a standing Committee within the European Parliament. It is responsible for the vast majority of the legislation and democratic oversight of the Union of citizens' rights, human rights and fundamental rights. Whilst doing so, it ensures the full respect of the Charter of Fundamental Rights within the EU, the European Convention on Human Rights and the strengthening of European citizenship. LIBE official website

The Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) is a subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament. DROI main responsibilities include all matters relating to human rights, the protection of minorities and the promotion of democratic values while its geographical remit covers countries outside the EU. The subcommittee's main objectives involve ensuring that human rights are at the forefront of European foreign policy and mainstreaming human rights across all policy areas. DROI official website

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) - Stakeholders

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) is a think tank launched in 2000 and based in Trento (Italy). It focuses on South-East Europe, Turkey and the Caucasus. Over time, OBCT expanded its scope and now reports on the socio-political and cultural developments of six EU member states, of seven countries taking part in the EU Enlargement process, and much of post-communist Europe, which is included in the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). 

In 2014, OBCT led the project Safety Net for European Journalists and since 2015 it is part of the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF ).