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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/205-drugs-and-addictions
[name] => Drugs and addictions
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(
)
)
[3] => Array
(
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/196-migration
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(
)
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/197-council-of-europe-development-bank
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(
)
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(
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/223-people-with-disabilities
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(
)
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(
)
)
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[id] => 410
[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/410-artificial-intelligence
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)
)
)
)
[6] => Array
(
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/204-bioethics
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/207-health-care
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(
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[7] => Array
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[id] => 208
[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/208-culture-heritage-nature
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(
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/210-european-cultural-convention
[name] => European Cultural Convention
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)
[1] => Array
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/211-intercultural-and-interreligious-dialogue
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(
)
)
[2] => Array
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(
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)
[3] => Array
(
[id] => 214
[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/214-culture-and-democracy
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(
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[4] => Array
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[id] => 397
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(
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)
)
[8] => Array
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/215-the-council-of-europe-and-the-european-union
[name] => The Council of Europe and the European Union
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(
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/216-different-roles-shared-values
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(
)
)
[1] => Array
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/217-partnerships
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[9] => Array
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/219-national-minorities
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[1] => Array
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[2] => Array
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/226-teaching-history
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/392-youth-in-europe
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)
1
Catalog
Europe Press Freedom Report: On the Tipping Point: Press Freedom 2025 (2026)
New report warns: Press freedom in Europe at a critical juncture
Press freedom across Europe remains under sustained pressure, according to the annual report of the partner organisations to the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists) launched on 3 March 2026. Legal threats, media capture, political interference and transnational repression are creating an increasingly hostile environment for journalism.
Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to pose the gravest threat, with journalists killed, injured, detained or disappearing in occupied territories, and repression intensifying within Russia itself. Across Europe, public service media face financial and political pressure, restrictive laws persist and SLAPPs continue to chill investigative reporting. Physical attacks, protest-related violence and online harassment – particularly targeting women journalists – further undermine media freedom.
While some member states have introduced reforms to strengthen protections, and new EU instruments such as the European Media Freedom Act offer important opportunities, implementation remains crucial.
The report stresses that Europe is approaching a tipping point. Decisive action is needed to end impunity for attacks on journalists, safeguard independent media and close the growing gap between political commitments and effective protection.
Press freedom across Europe remains under sustained pressure, according to the annual report of the partner organisations to the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists) launched on 3 March 2026. Legal threats, media capture, political interference and transnational repression are creating an increasingly hostile environment for journalism.
Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to pose the gravest threat, with journalists killed, injured, detained or disappearing in occupied territories, and repression intensifying within Russia itself. Across Europe, public service media face financial and political pressure, restrictive laws persist and SLAPPs continue to chill investigative reporting. Physical attacks, protest-related violence and online harassment – particularly targeting women journalists – further undermine media freedom.
While some member states have introduced reforms to strengthen protections, and new EU instruments such as the European Media Freedom Act offer important opportunities, implementation remains crucial.
The report stresses that Europe is approaching a tipping point. Decisive action is needed to end impunity for attacks on journalists, safeguard independent media and close the growing gap between political commitments and effective protection.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
OVERVIEW OF PRESS FREEDOM IN EUROPE IN 2025
SAFETY, PRESSURE AND VULNERABILITY OF JOURNALISTS
OVERVIEW OF PRESS FREEDOM IN EUROPE IN 2025
SAFETY, PRESSURE AND VULNERABILITY OF JOURNALISTS
Journalism in the shadow of Russia’s war on Ukraine
Risks to journalists reporting on protests
Detentions, arrests and criminal prosecution
Table. Journalists and other media actors in detention in Europe
Platform cases concerning impunity for the murder of journalists
Threats faced by women journalists
Precarity and employer pressure on journalists
Journalists in exile and transnational threats
STRUCTURAL AND LEGAL THREATS TO PRESS FREEDOM
Laws used to criminalise journalism
Making anti-SLAPP laws work
The spread of “foreign agent” laws
Surveillance and spyware targeting journalists
Media capture and control of public discourse
Political and financial pressures on Public Service Media
Box. Systemic threats to Public Service Media
VOICES AND TESTIMONIES
Kak’s column. From Charlie Hebdo to today: the growing assault on press cartoonists
Sigfrido Ranucci: “I have never felt more exposed or vulnerable”
COUNTRIES IN FOCUS
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
Georgia
Box. The Case of Mzia Amaglobeli
Hungary
Serbia
Slovak Republic
Türkiye
INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSES AND POLICY FRAMEWORKS
Measuring impact: national measures to improve press freedom and safety of journalists
Confronting democratic backsliding: Council of Europe action in 2025
European Union: from ambition to enforcement
RECOMMENDATIONS
To the Council of Europe
To the institutions of the European Union
To the member states of the Council of Europe
New report warns: Press freedom in Europe at a critical juncture
Press freedom across Europe remains under sustained pressure, according to the annual report of the partner organisations to the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists) launched on 3 March 2026. Legal threats, media capture, political interference and transnational repression are creating an increasingly hostile environment for journalism.
Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to pose the gravest threat, with journalists killed, injured, detained or disappearing in occupied territories, and repression intensifying within Russia itself. Across Europe, public service media face financial and political pressure, restrictive laws persist and SLAPPs continue to chill investigative reporting. Physical attacks, protest-related violence and online harassment – particularly targeting women journalists – further undermine media freedom.
While some member states have introduced reforms to strengthen protections, and new EU instruments such as the European Media Freedom Act offer important opportunities, implementation remains crucial.
The report stresses that Europe is approaching a tipping point. Decisive action is needed to end impunity for attacks on journalists, safeguard independent media and close the growing gap between political commitments and effective protection.
Press freedom across Europe remains under sustained pressure, according to the annual report of the partner organisations to the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists) launched on 3 March 2026. Legal threats, media capture, political interference and transnational repression are creating an increasingly hostile environment for journalism.
Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to pose the gravest threat, with journalists killed, injured, detained or disappearing in occupied territories, and repression intensifying within Russia itself. Across Europe, public service media face financial and political pressure, restrictive laws persist and SLAPPs continue to chill investigative reporting. Physical attacks, protest-related violence and online harassment – particularly targeting women journalists – further undermine media freedom.
While some member states have introduced reforms to strengthen protections, and new EU instruments such as the European Media Freedom Act offer important opportunities, implementation remains crucial.
The report stresses that Europe is approaching a tipping point. Decisive action is needed to end impunity for attacks on journalists, safeguard independent media and close the growing gap between political commitments and effective protection.