1.1 The European Federation of Journalists, the regional organisation of the International Federation of Journalists representing more than 280,000 journalists in 30 countries, believes that professional journalists, organised in free and independent trade unions, play a key role in the creation and maintenance of a democratic media culture.

1.2 The EFJ/IFJ believes that democracy depends upon the extension of freedom of expression and social justice worldwide. In the view of the EFJ/IFJ, democracy depends upon an understanding of the special and particular role of the media in democratic society.

1.3 The EFJ/IFJ believes that media must respect the professional and ethical principles of press freedom upon which the freedom of expression and opinion relies.

The EFJ/IFJ defines press freedom as:

The EFJ/IFJ believes this freedom can only be expressed when there exists:

1.4 The EFJ/IFJ considers that the treatment of news and information as a commodity must not override or interfere with the duty of journalists and media to inform the public.

1.5 The EFJ/IFJ believes in the coexistence of public service and private broadcasting in order to protect independence, pluralism and variety in programming to the enrichment of all sections of society.

1.6 The EFJ/IFJ affirms that responsibility for ethical conduct and maintenance of the highest standards in journalism rests with media professionals through systems of self-regulation.

1.7 The EFJ/IFJ strongly believes that the law should not interfere in matters, which are the proper responsibility of working journalists: namely, the gathering, preparation, selection and transmission of information;

1.8 The EFJ/IFJ believes that any harmonisation of media laws at regional level should take the highest standards and best regulations as a model;

1.9 The EFJ/IFJ calls on the institutions of the European Union -- the Parliament, Commission and Council -- to ensure that no legal or policy initiatives are taken without consultation with representative journalists’ organisations.

The political institutions of the Europe must protect the rights of citizens and promote transparency, understanding and participation in the development of policies designed to strengthen the social, economic and political cohesion of communities. The special role of media in this process requires that legal protection for media independence and support for professionalism in journalism should be of the highest priority.

2.1 The EFJ/IFJ declares that limiting concentration of ownership/ cross ownership and developing anti-trust legislation at European level is a precondition for a democratic and independent media in Europe and should be treated as a priority.

2.2 The EFJ/IFJ considers the implementation of the principle of editorial independence (editorial statutes) in all European media as a necessity to guarantee the professional independence of journalists and a pluralistic press.

2.3 The EFJ/IFJ believes that creating structures for dialogue to bring together legitimate representatives of workforce and management to discuss the economic and social development of the media and practical implementation of laws, policies and standards is essential to safeguarding a free and democratic media.

3. EUROPEAN FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

A European Freedom of Information Act should be prepared which:

a) Adopts the principles of Freedom of Information Acts in the United States, Sweden and other countries, and guarantees all journalists access to information from Community and public authorities (ruling out exclusive access to such information);

b) Provides protection to public-sector employees, as in the US Employee Health and Safety Whistleblower Protection Act, and safeguards reporters' sources of information on criminal or anti-social actions by public- or private-sector enterprises against any form of discrimination";

c) Recognises the general obligation to give information of public interests to journalists applying to both private and public organisations;

d) Includes protection of internal press freedom through a framework directive on editorial statutes ensuring editorial freedoms;

e) Ensures the principle of the application of the social charter to all media enterprises without any restrictions concerning journalists.

 

A European Freedom of Information Act should include provisions to:

Permit all journalists to maintain professional secrecy and to protect the identity of sources of information including researched material;

4. SELF-REGULATION AND ETHICS OF JOURNALISM:

4.1 The EFJ/IFJ believes that codes of ethics or codes of conduct must be drawn up by the professionals themselves.

4.2 The EFJ/IFJ Code of Conduct provides a code of ethics adopted by all national representative journalists organisations in Europe. Therefore, the EFJ/IFJ Code of Conduct provides the basis for a common European understanding on ethical issues through voluntary adoption of journalists and publishers. In this area EFJ/IFJ sees no active role neither for the Commission nor for national governments.

4.3 The EFJ/IFJ calls upon the European Union and the Council of Europe to encourage editors and management to establish together with the journalists the application of the rules by which the code shall be adopted.

5. EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE

5.1 To safeguard editorial independence a European framework legislation should be introduced in consultation with the representative professional organisations and social partners to ensure that:

6. STRUCTURES FOR DIALOGUE

6.1 The EFJ/IFJ supports the creation of structures for dialogue between journalists and editors and publishers, both in the written and audiovisual media in order to promote better understanding and a common approach on professional, social and economic development of media. The EFJ welcomes the initiative of social dialogue in the audiovisual sector of the EU.

6.2 Such structures for dialogue should bring together legitimate representatives of workforce, journalists and editorial management to discuss:

7. ACCESS TO THE PROFESSION

7.1 Access to the profession should be free. The professional level of future journalists should be as high as possible.

7.2 Trainee journalists must undergo proper training under conditions agreed by publishers and journalists' unions.

7.3 Appointments are restricted to qualified journalists, that is, persons who have minimum professional qualifications agreed by journalists' unions and publishers. Such qualified journalists should be recognised as such in collective agreements. Employers accept that is the duty of the media in general and the employer in particular to reflect the society it serves.

8. CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP

8.1 The EFJ/IFJ believes the process of monopolisation at a national level and transnational concentration of media ownership reduces the number of independent sources of information available to the public and is, therefore, a threat to media diversity and pluralism.

8.2 Therefore, legislation on concentration of ownership at European level should:

9. CLAUSE OF CONSCIENCE

9.1 Journalists must have the right to act according to their conscience in the exercise of journalism. In case of fundamental change in the political, philosophical or religious line of the employer, a journalist may put an end to his or her contract, without notice, and be paid compensation equivalent to what he or she would have received in case of termination of his or her contract by the employer.

9.2 No journalist should be directed by an employer or any person acting on behalf of the employer to commit any act or thing that the journalist believes would breach his or her professional ethics, whether defined by a code of ethics adopted by journalists collected at national level or that would infringe the international Code of Principles for the Conduct of Journalism as adopted by the EFJ/IFJ. No journalist can be disciplined in any way for asserting his or her rights to act according their conscience.