Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists published a new report warning that across Europe journalists are working in an increasingly hostile environment, facing legal threats, physical attacks, intimidation and attempts at media capture. This report is based on 300 alerts concerning serious violations of media freedom, and it documents patterns of pressure on independent journalism in both long-standing democracies and countries facing democratic backsliding.

It is important to note that the findings of the report highlight a number of challenges that have been present for a period of time. These challenges include strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) as well as abusive criminal proceedings. In addition to these, there also appears to be a use of so-called “foreign agent” laws, transnational repression and smear campaigns that are designed with the intention of discrediting critical media.

Russia’s war against Ukraine is having a significant impact on journalists, with reporters and media workers killed, injured or disappeared in Russian‑occupied territories. At the same time, there has been a further intensification of repression of journalism inside Russia and Belarus.

Simultaneously, the report also highlights areas where improvements could be made to ensure the safety and independence of the media, including potential challenges related to political involvement in public service media, underfunding, and the state’s engagement with the Platform’s alerts mechanism.

It is also important to mention that fewer than one in three alerts received a government response in 2025, and only a small share were fully resolved since the system was established. This ongoing development suggests a widening gap between political commitments and actual protection on the ground.

ECPMF works with partners across Europe to document such violations through its monitoring database Mapping Media Freedom and related monitoring reports, and to advocate concrete reforms that can close this gap. The Centre will continue to use the report’s findings in its monitoring, advocacy and support work, calling on Council of Europe member states and EU institutions to end impunity for attacks, safeguard independent and pluralistic media, and ensure that journalists can work safely and freely throughout Europe.

Executive Summary

In 2025, press freedom in Europe was under sustained pressure, driven by legal threats, attempts at media capture and transnational repression. This pressure was compounded by an increasingly hostile environment for journalism. This picture was mitigated by positive reforms in some member states and initiatives at the European level.

Russia’s war against Ukraine remained the gravest threat to journalists in Europe, with media workers killed, injured, detained or disappearing in Russian-occupied areas. Repression of journalism within Russia intensified, including convictions in absentia of those reporting from exile.

Public service media in several states faced political interference and financial instability, and restrictive laws, including “foreign agent” legislation, continued to be adopted. SLAPPs were widespread, chilling investigative reporting, despite EU and Council of Europe efforts to strengthen protections.

Protest-related alerts were recorded in at least a quarter of the states covered by the Safety of Journalists Platform (the Platform), with the highest levels of physical attacks on journalists recorded in Georgia, Serbia and Türkiye. Journalists were targeted by police, political actors and protesters, prevented from reporting, or sanctioned for their work, highlighting failures to ensure safe coverage and accountability for abuses. Online harassment and coordinated intimidation disproportionately targeted women journalists.

Some Council of Europe member states adopted measures to improve press freedom and journalist safety. Luxembourg and Portugal advanced national action plans and coordination mechanisms; Spain moved to strengthen legal protection of journalistic sources; Croatia proposed safeguards against abusive lawsuits; and Norway adopted a national strategy to counter disinformation and protect democratic debate. These steps reflect growing recognition among policymakers of the need for systematic action to defend journalism and press freedom.

EU measures, including the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the anti-SLAPP Directive and digital enforcement tools, offer leverage if implemented decisively. Council of Europe initiatives, including the ongoing work on a New Democratic Pact for Europe, as well as the Journalists Matter campaign, the Platform’s systemic alerts and engagement by the Group of Friends for the Safety of Journalists and Media Freedom, provide guidance and good practices.

Europe is approaching a critical juncture. Reversing the current trajectory will require decisive action by member states, the Council of Europe and European institutions to end impunity for attacks on journalists, safeguard independent and sustainably funded public service media, address structural threats such as media capture and restrictive legislation, and counter online harassment and coordinated intimidation.

This requires far stronger state engagement with the Platform. In 2025, fewer than one in three alerts received a government response, and only 20% of all alerts since 2015 have been resolved, revealing a widening gap between political commitments and effective protection. Closing this gap is no longer optional: it is essential to prevent further erosion of press freedom at a moment when it stands at a tipping point.

The Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists was set up by the Council of Europe in 2015, in co-operation with prominent international NGOs active in the field of the freedom of expression and associations of journalists, to provide information which may serve as a basis for dialogue with member states about possible protective or remedial action.

The 15 partners are the European Federation of Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, the Association of European Journalists, ARTICLE 19, Reporters without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Index on Censorship, the International Press Institute, the International News Safety Institute, Rory Peck Trust, the European Broadcasting Union, PEN International, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, Free Press Unlimited and the Justice for Journalists Foundation.