The MFRR Summit 2025 brought together journalists, policymakers, and civil society to address the urgent challenges facing press freedom in Europe. From disinformation and digital threats to shrinking media markets and political pressure, journalism is under strain, and journalists need stronger protection and support.
This Summit fed into EU Democracy Shield policy discussions and highlights journalism as vital democratic infrastructure. Drawing on MFRR’s monitoring, missions, and policy work, the event explored five key pillars of media resilience: economic viability, safety, legal protection, AI governance, and implementation of safeguards.
- 09:00 – 09:10 CETWelcoming message
- 09:10 – 09:30 CETOpening keynote
- 09:30 – 10:30 CETMedia Economy Under Pressure: How to Ensure Economic Viability
From platform ad monopolies and collapsing business models to biased state funding and increased far-right influence, today’s public interest media sector is economically destabilised. This panel will address urgent issues and spotlight policy solutions: market reform, including reformed copyright, tax incentives, direct support with safeguards, and breaking VLOP dependency.
Moderator
Speakers
- 10:45 – 11:45 CETUnsafe to Report. Why Journalists Keep Looking Over Their Shoulders
Mapping 1,500+ press freedom violations in 2024 (MFRR Monitoring Report), this panel focuses on states where enforcement is failing, and threats are escalating – from police violence at protests to online smear campaigns and digital intimidation, often initiated or supported by power holders themselves. Discussion will zoom into the MFRR findings from its recent on-the-ground missions, highlighting the most urgent safety issues and discussing possible solutions.
Moderator
Speakers
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Irma Dimitradze
Communications Manager and Journalist at Batumelebi and Netgazeti
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Hamdi Firat Buyuk
Journalist and Editor, BIRN
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Valentina Grippo
General Rapporteur on Media Freedom and Safety of Journalists, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
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Wael Eskandar
Visual Impact Producer at Lighthouse Reports
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Yanis Mhamdi
Investigative reporter at Blast
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- 13:00 – 14:00 CETSpoofing, Surveillance, Spyware. Journalists against Digital Threats
AI is reshaping journalism in multiple ways; while some are helpful, others are an imminent threat. AI and other advanced digital tools are used to erode trust, funding, and safety of journalists. Experts and journalists will address digital threats and discuss how to mitigate them via policies and structural support to journalists.
Moderator
Speakers
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Dragana Obradovic
Director of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) in Serbia
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Francesco Cancellato
Editor-in-chief at FanPage
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Stanley Kwenda
Strategic Communications and External Affairs Advisor at Amnesty International
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Asha Allen
Director and Secretary General of the CDT Europe Office
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Sarah Thust
Journalist at the Fact-checking Team at CORRECTIV
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- 14:15 – 15:15 CETLegal Protections. EMFA, Anti-SLAPP Directive: Implementation Highlights and Challenges
With the Anti-SLAPP Directive and EMFA passed, the real battle is in national transposition. MFRR will ground this discussion into its close observations of challenges that implementation of the protective laws faces and the developments on the ground in regards to the new legislation and regulations. How do we ensure that the “good” laws make real change in safeguarding free and independent journalists?
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Speakers
- 15:30 – 16:00 CETUkraine Spotlight Interview
- 16:15 – 17:15 CETThe Authoritarian Playbook. Foreign Agent Laws in the EU’s Shadow
While protective regulations face implementation challenges, other laws, with potential to seriously damage media freedom and modelled after Russian “foreign agents law”, are mushrooming across Europe. From Hungary to Georgia, “foreign interest” rhetoric is creeping into policy. This panel tackles how the spread of “foreign agent laws” and hostile „foreign influence” rhetoric are being weaponised to stigmatise and pressure critical journalists, ultimately threatening media freedom and democratic participation.
Moderator
Speakers
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Tamás Bodoky
Journalist, Editor and Publisher at Atlatszo.hu
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Lia Chakhunashvili
Executive Director of the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics
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Ivana Korajlić
Executive Director at Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Dragana Obradovic
Director of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) in Serbia
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- 17:15 – 18:30 CETClosing remarks