In its inaugural year the MFRR, launched initially as a one-year pilot on 1 March 2020, has swiftly established itself as a critical mechanism to support journalists, media workers and outlets under attack. Building on comprehensive and systematic monitoring documented on Mapping Media Freedom, the project offers legal and practical support and public advocacy. In its first year of operation, the MFRR collected more than 403 alerts on violations of Media Freedom, produced 150 advocacy outputs, supported more than 50 journalists directly and conducted virtual missions to Spain, Poland and Serbia.

Pandemic emergency

“The continuation of the Media Freedom Rapid Response is a win for journalists and journalism in Europe. The project combines the strengths of seven organisations to protect reporters and push for citizens’ right to be properly informed. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that professional journalism saves lives,”

says Lutz Kinkel, Managing Director of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom.

“Now, in the second year of the MFRR, we will have to deal with the political consequences of the pandemic. We have to make sure that ‘emergency regimes’ and their restrictions of media freedom will end. With regard to practical support, we will pay even more attention to women journalists and media workers and reporters working for local outlets, because they are the most vulnerable groups.”

The MFRR is implemented by a consortium led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), comprised of ARTICLE 19, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Institute for Applied Informatics at the University of Leipzig (InfAI), the International Press Institute (IPI) and CCI/Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBC Transeuropa). A description of all services provided can be found on www.mfrr.eu.

The virtual fact-finding mission will be led jointly by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Press Institute (IPI), in partnership with the Slovenian Journalists’ Association (DNS).

MFRR partner organisations ARTICLE 19, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and the Osservatorio Balcani  Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) will join along with representatives from other international media freedom groups.

Over a two-week period, the MFRR will meet with a variety of stakeholders including journalists, editors, associations, civil society, academics and MEPs from across the political spectrum, as well as state institutions and representatives of the government.

The MFRR delegation will also meet virtually with representatives from the public broadcaster RTVSLO and the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) to discuss growing pressure on the Central European country’s public service media.

The aim of the mission will be to better understand key developments in the framework of media freedom in Slovenia over the last year and assess the main challenges facing journalists and other media actors.

A mission report published in July will present the MFRR’s findings and set out a list of recommendations for both the governing coalition government and the European Union. When international travel is possible, the MFRR plans to travel to Ljubljana to meet with stakeholders on the ground and meet in person with government representatives.

The mission comes as Slovenia prepares to take over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU and amidst mounting concerns over media freedom from national associations, international groups and European institutions.

Over the last year, the MFRR has expressed growing alarm about the sharp increase in vocal attacks and smears on journalists by public figures including Prime Minister Janša, and clear attempts to exert greater control over the country’s public service media. The mission will address these issues as well as concerns over journalists’ safety, legal threats and media pluralism.

The MFRR tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU member states and candidate countries. It has organised a number of similar missions over the past year to Montenegro, Poland, Serbia and Spain.

In recent years, we have witnessed the staggering politicisation of the media in a small but growing number of member states where governments have abused regulatory, economic and legislative powers to punish critical media, increase control over public service media and promote government cheerleaders controlled directly or indirectly through party loyalists.

Besides more assertive use of the means already at the disposal of the EU institutions, we consider there is indeed a pressing need for the development of new mechanisms that can “increase transparency, independence and accountability around actions affecting control and freedom of the press,” as stated by Commissioner Breton in the European Parliament. In particular, EU law should consider media not simply as economic actors, but recognise independent journalism as a public good that needs protecting in its own right.

The current lack of such tools has meant that too often, the EU remains on the sidelines as supposedly independent but effectively politically-controlled bodies in member states make or validate decisions that restrict media freedom and pluralism.

Effective action against this systemic political capture of the media will require both robust tools that empower the EU, and the political courage to deploy them. We call on the European institutions to be ambitious in this regard. During the drafting process, they should consult frequently with journalists’ associations and civil society organisations operating both locally and on a European level, to ensure the resulting mechanism is an effective tool capable of addressing the progressive undermining of media freedom in affected member states. We stand ready to contribute to this initiative.

Key Findings

The safety of journalists has increasingly become a serious concern in Serbia. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already difficult situation. Those involved in attacks against journalists and media workers include public officials and the police. Key cases of concern include police brutality against demonstrators and journalists during the July 2020 protests and the arrest of journalists. Concerns over journalists’ protection predates the COVID-19 outbreak.

Historical cases of journalists’ murders in Serbia remain unresolved. The Commission for the Investigation of Murders of Journalists includes the killings of journalists Slavko Ćuruvija, Milan Pantić and Dada Vujasinović as priority cases for the police to investigate and resolve. In Ćuruvija‘s case, a re-trial started in September 2020, overturning the 2019 convictions of four former Serbian State Security officers involved in the journalist’s killing. The Serbian government should enhance cooperation with relevant authorities to shed light on the killing of a group of 15 Serbian and Albanian journalists and two German reporters in Kosovo between 1999 and 2001.

Threats: Of particular concern are cases of politicians or public officials openly threatening journalists, targeting and defining them as “enemies of the State” or “traitors”.  These are normally accompanied by threats, coordinated online harassment or even physical violence.

Online harassment and smear campaigns are of growing concern for the safety of journalists. These usually follow verbal attacks by politicians targeting journalists and are carried out through anonymous websites or social media accounts. Online harassment generates deep insecurity and uncertainty unsafety amongst journalists, who may self-censor fearing for their safety in the absence of adequate protection from the State. Women journalists are targeted by specific forms of online harassment of sexual nature or involving threats against their family members.

A heavily polarised media landscape between pro-government tabloids and independent media mirrors a divided political landscape. In the absence of parliamentary opposition to the current ruling party, after a boycott during the latest parliamentary elections, independent media are often perceived as political opponents, with some being banned from attending to events of public importance.