Analyses on specific aspects related to press and media freedom, performed and published by research centres, non-governmental organizations and public bodies
In this article, Elena Rodina and Olga Dovbysh examine how Russian journalists exiled since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine navigate a dual identity: new migrants who must adapt to a host country, and media professionals who must stay close to a homeland they cannot return to.
Aleksandra Dragojlov's article examines how political clientelism has systematically shaped Serbia's media landscape under the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) since 2012. Despite formal legislative reforms in 2014 and 2023 that ostensibly aimed to reduce state involvement in media operations, the government has employed more subtle, indirect mechanisms of control.
This paper examines how intrusive spyware targeting journalists undermines the public sphere. Through a comparative analysis of Greece, Italy, and Spain, it assesses legal safeguards against surveillance under Article 4 of the European Media Freedom Act. Findings reveal fragmented national frameworks with inadequate journalist protections, generating chilling effects that threaten investigative journalism and democratic accountability across EU member states.
This Legal and Policy Report, authored by Andrea Oleandri and produced within the STRIVE 2026 project supported by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) and the European Union, argues that the quality of a democracy depends on the quality of its information space, and that the traditional framing of press freedom—centred on protecting individual expression from state censorship—is no longer sufficient to guarantee a genuinely free and pluralistic media environment
In the context of Moldova’s accession process to the EU, the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) has published a legal analysis of the recent legislative efforts introduces to counter vexatious lawsuits
OBCT, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform present a report which outlines the deteriorating situation for media freedom and safety of journalists in Serbia. The report is a result of an international mission to Belgrade that took place in March 2026.
Media freedom, European integration, and reform processes in Moldova are the central themes of the recent shadow report published by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) in collaboration with OBCT and ActiveWatch
MFRR report focusing on Italy presents findings from the mission conducted in Rome in March 2026, in addition to insights from ongoing monitoring activities
ActiveWatch conducted a comparative analysis of Romania and Moldova, explaining the differences in the two countries’ performance in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index