Media Freedom Monitoring Report 2025
Europe’s media freedom landscape faced sustained pressure in 2025, with attacks on journalists, legal harassment, and political interference continuing across the continent. The new MFRR Monitoring Report 2025 documents the scale and patterns of these threats, drawing on verified cases recorded in the Mapping Media Freedom database.
18.02.2026
Europe’s media freedom landscape faced sustained pressure in 2025, with attacks on journalists, legal harassment, and political interference continuing across the continent. The new MFRR Monitoring Report 2025 documents the scale and patterns of these threats, drawing on verified cases recorded in the Mapping Media Freedom database.
Between January and December 2025, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) documented 1,481 press freedom violations affecting 2,377 media-related persons or entities across 36 countries. The report covers all 27 EU Member States as well as nine countries with EU candidate status, offering one of the most comprehensive snapshots of media freedom conditions in Europe.
The findings reveal persistent problems that cut across borders and political systems. Verbal attacks, smear campaigns, and intimidation remained the most frequently recorded violations. Digital threats continued to rise, while political actors were increasingly identified as sources of pressure against journalists. In several countries, the data points to deep-rooted structural issues rather than isolated incidents.
The report is structured in four main parts. It opens with a general overview of trends and key statistics, followed by three thematic chapters examining the impunity of crimes against journalists, the spread of foreign agent laws and narratives, and the ongoing use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs). The final sections provide detailed country analyses, including case studies from EU Member States and candidate countries where risks to press freedom are particularly acute.
By combining quantitative data with qualitative analysis, the Monitoring Report offers policymakers, journalists, and civil society a clearer picture of how threats to media freedom evolve across Europe. It also highlights areas where stronger safeguards, accountability, and legal protections are urgently needed.
The report has been compiled by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and the International Press Institute (IPI) as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) project, co-financed by the European Commission.
