Journalists Matter: Preventing attacks on journalists and media freedom across Europe

Due to the growing evidence of deteriorating conditions for journalists and media freedom across Europe, in 2023 the Council of Europe launched the Council of Europe Journalists Matter campaign for the safety of journalists, a pan-European initiative to promote press freedom and protect journalists from violence, threats and harassment.

The campaign's 2026 annual thematic conference campaign in Chișinău on 23 April has brought together representatives of public authorities, international experts, legal professionals, journalists and human-rights defendersto discuss how to prevent threats, pressure and attacks against journalists and media freedom, as well as to enhance journalists' safety and protect quality journalism.

The event examined how journalists' safety and quality journalism are mutually reinforcing pillars of democratic resilience and the role of ethical journalism in reducing vulnerability to polarisation, manipulation and violence. The conference also addressed the challenges investigative reporters face in high-risk contexts, their role in countering disinformation and electoral interference, and the importance of protecting journalists to safeguard democratic processes.

Republic of Moldova to bring in action plan to protect reporters

Held under the theme "Defending truth: comprehensive approaches to journalistic safety and quality journalism", the conference was jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova under the Moldovan Presidency of the Committee of Ministers and contributing to the New Democratic Pact for Europe.

Speaking at the opening, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, Cristian Jardan, announced in the forthcoming days the ministry will sign, together with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and the Prosecutor General´s Office, a national action plan on journalists' safety for the period 2026-27.

"The discussion about the safety of journalists is a discussion about the quality of democracy, the functioning of institutions and society's ability to distinguish between facts, manipulation, and propaganda", he said. He highlighted the role of the media in helping Moldovan society face the new type of war waged by Russia against the country, based on disinformation, falsehoods, and manipulation, amplified by new technologies.

"The response of democratic states must be clear-headed, firm and well-organised," placing the focus on prevention measures, he claimed. "We have a responsibility to protect press freedom, strengthen mechanisms to defend journalists, and maintain an open, pluralistic and credible information space", he added.

The Head of the Democratic institutions and freedoms department of the Council of Europe, Roberto Olla, said: "When journalists are intimidated, harassed or exposed to coordinated disinformation attacks, democratic debate weakens, citizens' trust declines, and public institutions become more vulnerable to manipulation. Increased focus should be placed on prevention by identifying risks in advance, strengthening institutional preparedness and equipping journalists and media organisations with protection knowledge and tools. It is also essential to increase citizens' awareness about the importance of journalists' safety and independent journalism for their democratic rights."

The conference focused on the prevention pillar of the 2016 Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Recommendation on the protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors, which contains specific measures to be taken by states to prevent violations of media freedom, to protect journalism and journalists effectively, and to prosecute crimes committed against them.

During the event, the youth dimension of the Journalists Matter Campaign, aiming to engage young people as informed citizens and contributors to prevention efforts, was presented. The first step will be the launch of the project Youth facing discrimination-why journalists matter, to be carried out in cooperation with the Council of Europe Youth department with the upcoming Monegasque Presidency of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. The initiative aims to empower young people to understand and address the links between disinformation, journalist safety, freedom of expression and democratic resilience, and will include a call for grants to implement youth projects.

What does the Journalists matter campaign do?

The Journalists matter campaign's main goal is to improve the safety conditions in which journalists work across Europe, notably by promoting the adoption and implementation of national action plans and the establishment of dedicated coordination mechanisms, including multi-stakeholder campaign committees bringing together public institutions, journalists, media organisations and civil society.

The campaign aims to strengthen legal and institutional standards for the protection of journalists. This includes ensuring effective remedies at the national level to address violations of media freedom, improving the investigation of crimes against journalists, and securing the proper sanctioning of perpetrators.

Press freedom continues to be under sustained pressure in Europe, driven by various threats including physical attacks, intimidation and abusive legal action, 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. In 2025 344 alerts were published on the platform.

Find out more about the wide range of work the Council of Europe does on media freedom