Sofia, 2 May 2025
It is time Bulgaria joined the Council of Europe’s Journalists Matter campaign. It is time for the state to show that it respects and protects journalism as a pillar of democracy, not as a threat to power. This is the call of the Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, 3 May. World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly, established to remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined in Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
What is the Journalists Matter campaign
“Journalists Matter” is a pan-European campaign of the Council of Europe which aims to:
- Assist Member States in establishing and implementing effective national mechanisms to protect journalists;
- Raise awareness of the increasing threats faced by journalists;
- To facilitate cooperation between governments, journalists’ organisations and civil society;
- To implement Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)4 of the Committee of Ministers on the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists.
Official campaign website: https://www.coe.int/en/web/freedom-expression/safety-of-journalists-campaign
Key documents and guides: https://www.coe.int/en/web/freedom-expression/background-documents
Bulgaria – among the last in the EU in media freedom
In 2025, Bulgaria ranks 70 out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders Index, announced on Friday by the international organisation.
Bulgaria dropped 11 places from its 2024 ranking due to a significant deterioration in its political score, noted Pavol Szalay, regional coordinator of Reporters Without Borders. In the EU, it now ranks 25th out of 27 member states (23rd in 2024).
He pointed out the following problems identified by his organisation:
- Public and private media are under political pressure and far-right and populist politicians are stepping up their attacks on critical journalists.
- Lawsuit abuse remains a serious threat to independent and sustainable journalism. In 2024, then Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov filed a SLAPP (lawsuit against public participation – ed.) against Bird.
- A journalist covering the October elections was attacked. Two separate incidents involved threats to journalists by local officials.
- Russian propaganda is widespread and the existence of Radio Free Europe in Bulgaria is threatened because of the Trump administration’s decision to cut off its global funding.
- No significant legal or policy reforms have been undertaken to strengthen media freedom, journalistic independence and the protection of journalists. Bulgaria is not on track to implement the European Freedom of the Media Act.
The Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria notes that the media environment in the country continues to suffer from:
- Systematic insults, disrespect and attacks by political figures against journalists or media who ask uncomfortable questions of government officials
- SLAPP cases against investigative journalists
- lack of effective mechanisms to control transparency of media ownership and regulation against media concentration
- misuse of public funding/municipal and state funds/to control editorial policy
- physical and online threats that often go unpunished
Our neighbours are already acting
- Romania – as early as last year, it started the creation of a “government-to-government campaign structure” that will also meet the requirements set out in the European Commission Recommendation 2021/1534 on the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists, and began meetings between non-profit media monitoring NGOs with state institutions: the Ministry of Interior (including the leadership of the gendarmerie and police), the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor General, the Higher Council of Mag
- Croatia – introduces protocols to protect journalists at events and conducts anti-SLAPP trainings.
- Ukraine – despite the war – introduces a national plan to protect journalists and establishes a coordinating committee.
- Countries like Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Malta are already part of the campaign with active actions.
➡️ List of initiatives in participating countries (updated regularly)
Why should Bulgaria get involved?
- Because journalists are in danger: threats against them threaten the public’s right to be informed.
- Because we are part of Europe: our country has commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights.
- Because silence is complicity: refusal to act in support of journalists means tolerance of pressure and repression.
Our appeal
We call on the Bulgarian state:
- Join the Journalists Matter campaign immediately;
- Establish an interagency mechanism to protect journalists and defend against SLAPP cases;
- Ensure transparency in media ownership and access to public funds without political pressure;
- To state clearly: journalists are not enemies of the state, but defenders of democracy.
We do not want privileges. We want security, freedom and dignity in our work. It is time for Bulgaria to stand by its journalists.
