Europe’s Press Freedom Test

The European Commission marked the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 2 by highlighting assistance to threatened reporters and stronger legal safeguards. Its pledge comes as new international findings reveal how easily violence and intimidation escape consequences.

According to the Commission, more than 100 projects in 56 countries had been launched by the end of 2025. The EU-backed ProtectDefenders.eu mechanism has assisted nearly 13,000 journalists since 2015, including 686 in 2025.

That assistance can include emergency protection and relocation. Keeping journalists safe after they reach a European refuge presents another challenge.

The threat follows the reporter

In February 2023, Galina Timchenko, the Russian co-founder of the independent, Latvia-based news outlet Meduza, was visiting Berlin when her phone was infected with Pegasus spyware.

A forensic investigation by Citizen Lab and Access Now established the infection with high confidence. The researchers could not conclusively identify which government customer was responsible.

The vulnerability reaches beyond the person holding the phone. Intrusive surveillance can expose confidential sources, including people who risk their livelihoods or freedom to provide evidence of wrongdoing.

For independent media operating from the Baltic region, that makes protection against surveillance a practical condition for continuing their work.

Protection written into law

Most provisions of the European Media Freedom Act have applied since August 8, 2025. The law strengthens safeguards for editorial independence and confidential sources, including protection against intrusive surveillance. It also establishes requirements intended to protect public service media from political interference.

These protections reach the relationship between a reporter and a whistleblower, and between a newsroom and the government controlling its funding.

The consequences of failed protection are stark. On November 2, UNESCO, the United Nations agency responsible for promoting press freedom, reported that global impunity for journalist killings had risen to 86 percent, from 85 percent in its previous assessment.

It was the first increase since the agency began measuring the rate in 2012. UNESCO recorded 189 journalists killed in 2024–2025, with roughly two-thirds of the deaths occurring in conflict zones.

Pressure from inside Europe

European monitoring also identifies threats closer to the institutions promising protection.

The Media Freedom Rapid Response, a consortium of press freedom organizations, recorded 363 press freedom violations within EU member states during the first six months of 2026. Its categories include physical assaults, intimidation, legal pressure and interference with reporting.

Within the EU, political actors accounted for a quarter of recorded attacks. Their most frequent methods were threats, insults and attempts to discredit journalists.