IPI joins partner organisations in publishing the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) Monitoring Report for 2025, which documents 1,481 press freedom violations affecting 2,377 journalists or media-related entities in 36 European countries between January and December 2025.
Journalists and media outlets across Europe faced sustained threats throughout 2025, according to the latest Monitoring Report. Based on verified cases recorded in the Mapping Media Freedom database, the report provides a comprehensive overview of the main threats facing journalists across the 27 EU Member States and nine candidate countries.
The findings show that verbal attacks, harassment, and smear campaigns remained the most common form of press freedom violation. Digital threats also continued to rise, while government and public officials were increasingly identified as perpetrators. In several countries, the data points to systemic issues that undermine the safety and independence of journalists.
The Monitoring Report is structured in four parts. It begins with a general overview of trends and key statistics across Europe. The next three thematic chapters examine the impunity of crimes against journalists, the spread of foreign agent laws, and the continued use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).
The final section provides detailed country analyses of five EU Member States including Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, and Spain, and six candidate countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Türkiye, Georgia, Serbia, and Ukraine.
- The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) monitors, tracks, and responds to violations of press and media freedom across EU Member States and candidate countries. The mechanism provides practical and legal support, public advocacy, and monitoring to protect journalists and media workers under threat.
- The MFRR is co-funded by the European Commission and implemented by a consortium led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), together with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Press Institute (IPI), ARTICLE19 Europe, Free Press Unlimited (FPU), and OBC Transeuropa (OBCT). The project is co-financed by the European Commission.
- For press inquiries, please contact: [email protected].
This report was compiled by the ECPMF, EFJ and IPI as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.
