NEWS - Media Freedom Rapid Response Mechanism

The European Democracy Action Plan stresses that physical and online threats and attacks on journalists are on the rise in several Member States and proposes sustainable funding for projects with a focus on legal and practical assistance to journalists in the EU and elsewhere, including safety and cybersecurity training for journalists and diplomatic support. The Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report refers to physical and online threats and attacks on journalists as a persistent issue across Europe. In September 2021 the Commission adopted a Recommendation on ensuring the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists and other media professionals in the European Union.

Expected results

This action is expected to provide practical help to protect journalists under threat, including concrete tools such as advice and legal support as well as offering shelter and logistical assistance thereby enabling the targeted journalists to continue pursuing their professional activities. This can include financial support when needed. The project will also organise visits to affected countries. Anti-impunity action shall be supported through advocacy. The tools used will be adjusted to accommodate individual needs on a case-by-case basis.

Violations of press and media freedom will be systematically and comprehensively monitored across the EU, countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme and candidate countries in order to ensure the provision of reliable and comprehensive information on such violations to the general public as well as to the European institutions. The monitoring should be geared to ensure early warnings about violations. The alerts related to EU, countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme and candidate countries will be systematically published on a dedicated website. Regular reports listing all alerts and identifying main trends will also be published. Such monitoring will generate data and insights beyond the scope or reach of several existing monitoring tools, covering, in particular, risks to media freedom and pluralism as well as selected serious incidents and authorities’ reactions to such incidents.

Activities that can be funded

• Design and manage a Europe-wide rapid response mechanism to support media freedom and journalists' safety, covering all EU Member States, countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme and candidate countries;
• Provide legal and practical support to journalists and other media practitioners in need;
• Organise advocacy missions to locations where journalists are under threat;
• Monitor the state of media freedom in the EU Member States, countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme and candidate countries;
• Organise awareness raising campaigns in the field of media freedom and safety of journalists;
• Ensure communication and dissemination activities;
• Monitor and evaluate the action.

The following actions can be implemented in order to address the above described activities:

• Cooperation projects;
• Conferences, seminars;
• Training activities;
• Awareness and dissemination actions;
• Actions aiming at the creation and improvement of networks, exchanges of good practices;
• Actions aiming at the creation and improvement of digital tools;
• Studies, analyses, mapping projects;
• Legal and practical support to journalists;
• Advocacy missions towards eligible countries when necessary;
• Financial support to third parties.

Financial support to third parties is allowed for grants and prizes under the following conditions:

• the application includes an exhaustive list of the types of activities for which a third party may receive financial support out of the following fixed list:
  • Direct support to journalists facing threats (security or legal expenses);
  • Ad hoc support to NGOs active in the field of media freedom and safety of journalism.
• the application includes the definition of the persons or categories of persons which may receive financial support out of the following categories:
  • Journalists and media practitioners (natural persons);
  • NGOs.
• the application includes the criteria for awarding financial support
• the application includes the maximum amount to be granted to each third party and the criteria for determining it.