Liberties Report 2025: Democratic Decline Deepens - Article

The Rule of Law Report by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe highlights a serious deterioration in the rule of law across Europe in 2024. The report ranks Italy alongside Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Slovakia among the countries facing the most critical issues

Source: CILD - Coalizione Italiana Diritti Civili 

Romania: Answers needed over surveillance of investigative journalist - Article

Disturbing revelations about the physical surveillance and wiretapping of Victor Ilie, Romanian investigative journalist, by the Romanian National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA).

Open Letter: Surveillance warrants targeting journalists are dangerous for democracy - Article

OBCT, alongside free expression organizations, Romanian journalists and media outlets, condemns the surveillance of journalists by Romanian prosecutors as a violation of press freedom 

Originally published in Romanian and English by ActiveWatch and the Center for independent Journalism

Serbia: One year of unpunished attacks on journalist Dinko Gruhonjić, culture of impunity must end - Article

The members of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium and partner organisations of the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform are deeply concerned about the ongoing year-long persecution campaign against journalist Dinko Gruhonjić, programme Director of the Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (NDNV) and Associate Professor at the Department of Media Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad

SafeJournalists Network and Media Freedom Rapid Response: TikTok ban in Albania threatens freedom of expression ahead of general elections - Article

SafeJournalists Network (SJN), the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, and civil society organizations express serious concern regarding the Albanian Council of Ministers' decision to suspend nationwide access to the TikTok platform for 12 months

MFRR and SJN condemn adoption of foreign agent legislation in Bosnia’s entity Republika Srpska - Article

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and SafeJournalists Network (SJN) strongly condemn the adoption of legislation in the Republika Srpska entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina which will establish a "special registry” of NGOs, many of which are independent media

Serbia: MFRR and SJN urgently call to stop targeting and intimidating journalists - Article

OBCT, together with its partners from the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the SafeJournalists Network (SJN), strongly condemns the increasing and systematic attacks on journalists and NGOs in Serbia

Croatia: Tackling political pressure, legal challenges and precarity to revive media freedom - Article

Outdated media laws, compromised public media independence, SLAPPs, as well as mounting economic, political, and physical pressures are undermining journalism and media freedom in Croatia, as outlined in the latest Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) report

Slovakia: New report highlights growing media freedom crisis - Article

Media freedom in Slovakia is facing a deep crisis, serving as a critical test case for the European Union’s commitment to safeguarding media freedom and democratic values, Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partner organisations warn today in a new report

USAID suspension in BiH, a hard blow to media and civil society - Article

The suspension of the US government's international aid programmes, one of the first decisions taken by Donald Trump after taking office, has triggered a wave of uncertainty around the world, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is no exception

By Darko Kurić

Originally published by OBCT. Also available in ITA and BHS