Belgium / Europe & Central Asia

  
A general view of the hemicycle shown ahead of a plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium on March 9, 2020. The parliament is drafting legislation on terrorist content online that could affect journalists reporting the news. (Reuters/Francois Lenoir)

EU online terrorist content legislation risks undermining press freedom

Brussels, March 11, 2020—The European Parliament should strengthen protections for journalism in draft legislation on terrorist content online, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›

A view of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium on October 9, 2019. (REUTERS/Yves Herman)

European Parliament must push for safeguards for journalists in ‘e-evidence’ proposal

Brussels, October 30, 2019—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today that a proposed European Union regulation on law enforcement access to electronic data lacks sufficient safeguards for journalists. The Regulation on European Production and Preservation Orders is known as the “e-evidence proposal.”

Read More ›

The European Parliament prepares for a debate on press freedom in Strasbourg in March, following the murder of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak. The Council of Europe's platform on journalist safety finds the media increasingly faces hostility. (AFP/Frederick Florin)

Council of Europe report finds journalists face obstruction, violence

The Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists today published its annual report, “Democracy at Risk.”

Read More ›

A protester raises his fist in front of security forces during a demonstration in Paris on December 15, 2018, to protest rising costs of living and high taxes. Dozens of journalists have been attacked and some injured by both protesters and police. (Zakaria Abdelkafi/AFP)

Police, ‘yellow vest’ protesters both target journalists in France, Belgium

Dozens of journalists covering anti-government protests in France and Belgium in November and December of 2018 suffered attacks by the demonstrators and the police, according to press and social media reports.

Read More ›

A protester waves the French flag during a rally in Paris on December 1 against a proposed fuel tax hike. Journalists covering the unrest across France and Belgium are at risk of being attacked and injured. (AFP/Alain Jocard)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering protests in France and Belgium

Despite the French government announcing it will drop a proposed fuel tax rise, the gilets jaunes (yellow jackets) group, truckers, and farming groups have called for more protests, according to The Guardian. Mass demonstrations have taken place across France and Belgium as initial protests over the proposed increase in fuel duty on diesel spread to…

Read More ›

CPJ calls on European Council and European Commission to raise press freedom with Turkey

CPJ calls on the presidents of the European Council and European Commission to request the release of Turkish journalists as a matter of priority during a scheduled meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in Varna, Bulgari.

Read More ›

Candles are lit during a silent protest march to pay tribute to murdered Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend, Martina Kusnirova, in Bratislava, Slovakia. CPJ and other press freedom groups are calling on the European Commission to investigate the killing. (AFP/Alex Halada)

CPJ joins call for European Commission to fight impunity in journalist killings

In a joint letter today, addressed to President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, 17 international media freedom organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, called on the Commission to ensure thorough, effective investigations into the murders of investigative journalists Ján Kuciak in Slovakia and Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta.

Read More ›

An EU flag, pictured in January 2012. The European Parliament is due to vote this month on legislation around exports of surveillance software. (AP/Vadim Ghirda)

CPJ joins call for EU to stop surveillance software going to rights abusers

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined a group of human rights groups in calling on the European Parliament to vote tomorrow in favor of legislation that could prevent surveillance equipment from going to rights-abusing governments.

Read More ›

A worker cleans a EU flag in Berlin on May 19, 2017. The EU parliament is due to vote on October 12 on a proposed review mechanism of surveillance tool exports. (AFP/John MacDougall)

Press at risk as EU-based companies export surveillance software to hostile regimes

In August, Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen told the daily newspaper Information that the government had authorized sales of online surveillance software to several Middle Eastern countries. While acknowledging the potential for human rights violations that could result from the use of these tools, the minister said that Denmark has an interest in the fight…

Read More ›

Harlem Désir, pictured at France's National Assembly in Paris in July 2016, says he is committed to standing up for journalists in his new role as OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. (AFP/Jacques Demarthon)

Q&A: Impunity and journalist safety are priority says new OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media plays a vital role that is valued by journalists and media freedom groups for its ability to speak out in defense of press freedom in participating states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Read More ›