Croatia, the assault on the local press - Article

2024 is the year of elections for Croatia: European, political and presidential elections will take place between next June and December. And with the electoral competitions, the race for control of the local media, particularly the regional ones, is gaining ground in a hardly transparent way

By Giovanni Vale 

Originally published by OBCT. Also available in ITA and BHS

Serbia: New draft media laws represent another step backward for media freedom - Article

OBCT joins MFRR partners in expressing concerns over the new draft Law on Public Information and Media and the Law on Electronic Media. We call for the Serbian government to revise the latest draft versions of the laws and ensure that their provisions comply with European and international standards on freedom of expression

2022 Rule of Law Report - Reports

On 13 July 2022, the European Commission adopted the third Rule of Law Report, which includes 27 country chapters and new recommendations to each Member State

CMPF’s contribution to the Call for Evidence on the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) - Reports

In this contribution to the call for evidence on the European Media Freedom Act, CMPF analyses why such a measure is needed and what issues it should tackle

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

Saving the News - Why the Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve Freedom of Speech - Books

American legal scholar Martha Minow poses timely questions related to the need of government support aimed at ensuring the independence and vitality of the free press

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

Bulgaria: the end of a legal harassment - Article

On 28 June the independent publisher and businessman Ivo Prokopiev was finally acquitted, thus confirming that the charges against him can be considered retaliatory and intended to stifle investigative reporting. The Media Freedom Rapid Response partners are relieved but ask to stop all further legal harassment against him and Economedia. Here the statement that was issued before the trial

2020 World Press Freedom Index - Monitoring tool

Compared to 2019 Index, the proportion of countries where the press freedom situation is “good” has remained stable, while the percentage of countries where the situation is “very bad” has increased by two points

Media Freedom made in Scandinavia: six examples of best practices - Reports

This report of a fact-finding mission to Scandinavia organised by ECPMF with the participation of EFJ and OBCT shows policies and approaches that can inspire change for the better, suggesting what governments and media actors can do to defend media freedom