Press and media freedoms are increasingly at risk. After its first edition (March 2020-March 2021), the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) has been confirmed for the third year, this time covering a period of 18 months, from May 2022 till November 2023: it monitors violations in all EU Member States and Candidate Countries and documents them on the Mapping Media Freedom platform.
Furthermore, the MFRR provides practical and direct support to journalists and media workers who are at risk due to their work through emergency funds, legal aid, training, and shelter programmes. MFRR partners also carry out advocacy missions and awareness-raising campaigns to secure a wider engagement in European civil society with issues related to press and media freedom.
Within the project, OBCT makes further use of its Resource Centre on Media Freedom to support evidence-informed policymaking and advocacy, and supports QCode Mag in managing the programme Journalists-in-Residence Milan.
Kosovo: Steadfast support for Flutura Kusari as she seeks justice against Mentor Llugaliu’s harassment
20/6/2025OBCT joins free expression organizations in expressing support for colleague Flutura Kusari, Senior Legal Advisor at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), who has been the target of a prolonged online harassment campaign
Serbia: Media regulator election again made a mockery of EU-required reforms
19/6/2025Process to appoint new members of media regulator council was again conducted in non-transparent and discriminatory manner
Entries open for the Luchetta Award 2025
Redazione | 3/6/2025The “Luchetta, Ota, D’Angelo, Hrovatin Foundation for child war victims” has organized the twenty-second edition of the Premio Luchetta in memory of the death of Marco Luchetta, Alessandro Saša Ota and Dario D’Angelo. All works must be submitted by Wednesday 25 June 2025
INVESTIGATION “They failed to silence us”: the harsh reality of investigative female journalists in the Balkans
Ivana Nikolić, Dušica Tomović | 23/5/2025Women journalists in the Balkans face daily threats, sexist insults, verbal and physical attacks, most of which go unpunished. Some of them live under constant police protection. Despite it all, they continue doing their work
Albania: MFRR and SafeJournalists condemn blatant intimidation of journalists covering parliamentary elections
| 22/5/2025OBCT joins partners from the Media Freedom Rapid Response and the SafeJournalists Network in raising alarm over numerous incidents of intimidation and obstruction faced by journalists covering the Albanian parliamentary elections
Croatia: MFRR Media Freedom Mission to Visit Zagreb
redazione | 16/5/2025Between 19 and 21 May, Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partner organisations will conduct a press freedom mission to Zagreb, Croatia.
ANALYSIS Media in Georgia, pressure and repression
Marilisa Lorusso | 6/5/2025In recent months in Georgia, pressure on the media and information workers has turned into actual repression. A case in point is that of journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, who has been in prison for over a hundred days on charges of assaulting a police officer
Europe at a crossroads: defending democracy depends on defending media freedom
| 3/5/2025On World Press Freedom Day, the Media Freedom Rapid Response partners express solidarity with all journalists and media professionals who face threats, intimidation, and attacks for their work. In these challenging times of socio-political turmoil in Europe and beyond, public interest journalism is more crucial than ever, as journalists continue to work under increasing pressure. We call for decisive action by the European Union, its member states, and candidate countries to uphold and protect media freedom
Media Freedom Rapid Response Input regarding the EU Democracy Shield
| 30/4/2025The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) has submitted its official input to the EU Democracy Shield, emphasizing the need to uphold media resilience and journalist safety as essential pillars for safeguarding democracy in Europe
Commissioner Virkkunen acknowledges crucial role of journalism in Europe’s Defense and Preparedness agenda
| 30/4/2025Partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) met with European Commission Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, on 27 April 2025, to address increasing challenges concerning the economic viability, online safety of journalists, and the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the media landscape
Liberties' Media Freedom Report 2025
| 29/4/2025The Media Freedom Report 2025 (Report) is the fourth annual report on media freedom in the European Union (EU) produced by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties). It is based on data and input from Liberties’ member and partner organisations and complements Liberties’ annual Rule of Law Report
Greece: Investigative media win latest victory in spyware SLAPP ruling
22/4/2025The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFFR) welcomes the Athens court's dismissal of vexatious lawsuits against Greek journalists reporting on the Prime Minister's nephew’s alleged spyware links
INTERVIEW Entering the Serbian digital prison: an interview with Jelena Sesar
Massimo Moratti | 22/4/2025A series of reports by Amnesty International exposes Serbia’s "Digital Prison", a widespread surveillance campaign targeting journalists and civil society. In this interview Jelena Sesar, researcher at AI, takes us inside this prison
Greece: Total impunity persists on fourth anniversary of Giorgos Karaivaz murder
| 9/4/2025The undersigned international media freedom and journalist organisations today mark the fourth anniversary of the killing of Greek crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz in April 2021 with a renewed call for justice and an end to ongoing impunity, which continues to cast a dark shadow over the Greek media and press freedom landscape
Serbia: Spyware attacks on BIRN journalists
redazione | 28/3/2025Further alarm about the deepening press freedom crisis: revelations showing evidence of the abuse of advanced Pegasus spyware
Serbia: MFRR media freedom mission to visit Belgrade and Novi Sad
redazione | 28/3/2025The partners organisation of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) will conduct a mission to Serbia between 7-9 April to meet with journalists, media stakeholders and law enforcement authorities amidst a rapidly worsening media freedom crisis.
As part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response project, OBCT organised on 17 October 2023 an international conference aimed at unpacking the nexus between rule of law, media and democracy.
Here you can find all the materials and video recordings of the event
Events:
SLAPPs against the media in Europe: is the EU response sufficient and what remains to be done?
22 Apr 2023 | Incontro | Perugia
The objective of the panel co-organized by ARTICLE 19 Europe and OBC Transeuropa, as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response Mechanism, is to highlight the phenomenon of SLAPPs at the national level and unpack the anti-SLAPP developments at the European level
MFRR Summit 2023: Press Freedom on the Line
29 Mar 2023 - 31 Mar 2023 | Summit | Online
Reflecting the MFRR’s core campaign areas, the online conference will host in-depth discussions on journalist safety, media capture, the rule of law, and SLAPPs. Hosted on Zoom for interactive participation, and simultaneously livestreamed on the MFRR YouTube channel, the summit will feature a range of panel discussions, live interviews, and keynote speeches with journalists, media freedom experts, policy-makers, and other stakeholders all working to defend press freedom in Europe
MFRR Summit 2022 - Boosting Press Freedom
22 Mar 2022 - 24 Mar 2022 | Conferenza | Online
La conferenza annuale del progetto Media Freedom Rapid Response, una tre giorni online aperta dalla vicepresidente della Commissione Europea e da un discorso di Roberto Saviano
MFRR Summit
17 Mar 2021 - 20 Mar 2021 | online
(Conferenza finale del primo anno di Media Freedom Rapid Response, con giornalisti, esperti, rappresentanti della Commissione Europea. Quattro giorni di eventi e dibattiti)
Media freedom is in jeopardy but there is no democracy in Europe without a free press in Europe
Between 17th and 20th March, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), which monitors and tracks media freedom violations, will bring together leading journalists from over 13 countries and representatives of press freedom organisations, unions and journalist bodies to discuss key threats and trends that underpin threats to media freedom across Europe
Chi ha paura dei giornalisti? Il report MFRR Italia
11 May 2022 | online | online
In occasione della pubblicazione del report sulla Missione Italia, il consorzio MFRR propone un momento di discussione sugli esiti della tre giorni di ricognizione tenuta dalla delegazione agli inizi di aprile
MFRR in Focus: Europe
4 Oct 2021 | WEBINAR | online
In questo appuntamento online, che avrà cadenza bimestrale, i partner del consorzio Media Freedom Rapid Response presentano le questioni più urgenti che minacciano il giornalismo in Europa, negli Stati membri e nei paesi candidati
MFRR in Focus 6
24 May 2022 | online
Per l'appuntamento mensile con il webinar di MFRR, OBCT ha realizzato un'intervista a una videomaker freelance di GVpress: Cristina Pantaleoni, incontrata a Roma durante la missione Italia di MFRR, racconta le difficoltà dei videogiornalisti durante gli scontri con manifestanti e polizia
MFRR in Focus 5
15 Mar 2022 | Webinar | Online
Il quinto episodio del webinar mensile di MFRR si concentra sulle questioni di genere nel giornalismo, dedicando una puntata alle donne, a una settimana dalla Giornata Internazionale dell'8 marzo / The 5th edition of the MFRR monthly webinar focuses on women journalists, a week after International Women's Day
OBC Transeuropa -as member of the Media Freedom Rapid Response consortium- conducted a research on the needs of European journalists and the gaps in support mechanisms. From verbal harassment against media operators to groundless legal charges, what can be done to tackle these issues
2021
Authors: Maria Francesca Rita, Sofia Verza, Luisa Chiodi
Language: English
The project European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) aims to protect press freedom and to promote transnational public debate on violations registered in the European Union, the Enlargement and the Eastern Partnership countries. In 2018, the project enters its fourth year of activity thanks to the renewed support by the European Commission.
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) brings together different European entities working in support of media freedom - the Media Foundation of the Sparkasse Leipzig , initiator of the ECPMF based in Leipzig; the two monitoring centres Oxygen for Information (Rome) and South East Europe Media Organisation (Vienna); Journalismfund.eu (Brussels); and the Institute of European Media Law (Saarbrücken).
Press freedom and freedom of expression have a crucial role for the functioning of democratic societies. Despite this, in Europe journalists are threatened, censured or intimidated and this affects the citizens' right to information. OBC, together with SEEMO , Ossigeno Informazione , Professor Eugenia Siapera (Dublin City University) and a broad network of media partners in 11 European countries, devoted a year to studying the challenges to press freedom and the needs of journalists in Italy, South East Europe and Turkey. The project "Safety Net for European Journalists. A Transnational Network Support for Media Freedom in Italy and South-east Europe" is co-financed by the European Union.
The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) started in March 2020 as a one-year pilot project co-funded by the European Commission. |