3 Mar 2026 | Europe and Central Asia, News
In 2025, press freedom in Europe was under sustained pressure, driven by legal threats, attempts at media capture and transnational repression. This pressure was compounded by an increasingly hostile environment for journalism. This picture was mitigated by positive reforms in some member states and initiatives
at the European level.
The Council of Europe’s Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists, of which Index on Censorship is a partner, has today published its report on press freedom in member states, Russia and Belarus. Since the platform’s launch in April 2015, it has published more than 2,300 alerts on serious threats to media freedom. The number of alerts has risen steadily, from 106 in 2015 to more than 330 in 2025. A quarter of these concern attacks on the physical safety and integrity of journalists, including the deaths of 53 journalists or media professionals.
In 2025, hotspots of con ict and repression emerged as the primary sources of threats to journalists. Belarus, Georgia, Serbia, Russia, Türkiye and Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territories recorded the highest numbers of alerts on the platform. Beyond these hotspots, the report examines structural pressures on press freedom in several other countries, such as Hungary, which has served as a template for authoritarian governance since Prime Minister Orbán’s return to power; Slovakia, where changes affecting public service media have raised doubts about its independence; and Azerbaijan, where the authorities have effectively disengaged from meaningful dialogue with the platform.
You can download the report here or flick through it below.
23 Feb 2026 | Europe and Central Asia, News, Slovakia
The day of Ján Kuciak’s anniversary is still traumatic for this country in the heart of Europe. But neither the president, nor the head of the national parliament, nor the prime minister said a one word about Kuciak nor his fiancée, archaeologist Martina Kušnírová, nor their assassination. In eight years, the prime minister Robert Fico has not once mentioned his name publicly. He mostly talks only about “that journalist” and spreads conspiracy theories and lies about the killing.
I and many others talked about Ján Kuciak on Saturday 21 February 2026, at one of the 30 commemorative demonstrations all around Slovakia. I travelled to Zlaté Moravce about 80 minutes’ drive from capital Bratislava, where local civic activists regularly organise political protests against the populist right-wing government.
I knew Ján personally; I was honoured to host the only public appearance of his very short, but breathtaking career in January 2017. Almost no one knew his name at that time. Where do Slovak millionaires hide their money? was the title of his awesome speech. It was an unforgettable masterclass on innovative data journalism. Ján, an extraordinary talent of his generation, had searched for, read, processed and analysed large public datasets from ministries and government offices to uncover corruption and explain tax frauds and reported on it in his unusually complex stories.
Author Michal Hvorecký speaks to a crowd on the eighth anniversary of Jan Kuciak’s murder
In his editorial office, he visualised the collected data in an old-school analogue way drawing with pencils on huge pieces papers spiderwebs of connections full of notorious oligarch names and their criminal networks. He acted as our very first digital-age watchdog. He put the information into context and explained how top members of the governing Party Smer and their sponsors and affiliated post-Soviet style businessmen – many still in power after all these years – stole huge sums and moved the money to tax havens like Cyprus. He also investigated the suspected theft of EU funds destined for eastern Slovakia by the members of Italian mafia.
Ján Kuciak uncovered that the corruption in Slovakia doesn’t only mean petty bribes, but something much deeper and more dangerous – state capture. Corruption as a system. His stories told us how Robert Fico turned democracy into a mechanism for his own enrichment and the power. Party Smer functioned – and unfortunately still does – like a cartel.
Since 2020 we have known how Ján was killed and by whom. But who ordered the assassination? Who wanted to silence him at all costs? We still do not know, and we need to know. Ján exposed a form of corruption so deeply entrenched that it threatened the rule of law and democracy.
Recently, Slovakia’s Special Criminal Court reopened the murder case for the third time. Hopefully, the court will learn from its previous errors and thoroughly examine all the evidence.
To this day, I am convinced that Ján Kuciak could have lived. If the state had acted. If Minister of Interior Robert Kaliňák – today a Minister of Defence – had not laughed at him and refused to demand a police investigation. Ján was openly threatened by influential oligarch and controversial media tycoon Marián Kočner. As a journalist he filed a criminal complaint. It didn’t help. Police refused to assist and protect him. A couple of months later Ján was executed with a single bullet to the heart and Martina with the shot to the head.
Recently, one of the businessman Ján Kuciak was intensively reporting about, Jozef Brhel, founder and sponsor of Smer, was accused of leading an organised criminal group that laundered dirty money from state contracts for years, and in February 2026, he was finally found guilty.
What Ján taught us is to never give up the fight for justice and to speak up about state capture, the most dangerous mutation of corruption. The 21 February is our annual reminder that freedom and the rule of law cannot be taken for granted. Slovakia has a strong civic society ready for widespread protest whenever necessary, and a free critical media, both also thanks to Ján. Good writing can still change the world and make it a better place, as his major work, published posthumously, proved.
“One day, Slovakia will wake up,” Ján wrote. I hope this day is very near.
7 Nov 2025 | Europe and Central Asia, Hungary, News, Statements
During a one-day mission to Budapest on 22 October 2025, partner organisations of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the safety of journalists met with journalists, media representatives, legal experts and representatives of civil society to discuss key issues affecting media freedom, rule of law and free expression. Stakeholders described a severely restricted media environment within which independent journalism operates, while also highlighting the deep political polarisation shaping the run-up to the expected April 2026 elections.
In the past year, the ruling party Fidesz has maintained the most sophisticated system of media capture and control yet seen within the European Union, constructed through sustained dominance over public media, continued consolidation of private outlets under allied ownership, and persistent distortion of the market through control over state advertising, with severe consequences for media pluralism and independent journalism.
While online harassment against independent media has long been documented in Hungary, including campaigns aimed at representatives of the Platform partners, the polarised and divisive nature of the election campaign has increased the severity and nature of the threats. Multiple stakeholders reported targeted harassment and smear campaigns directed at independent journalists and outlets by representatives and supporters of the two most prominent parties and media outlets deemed friendly to the ruling party, many of which are owned by the Government-linked KESMA foundation. The partners were alarmed by reports that journalists have been smeared online and in the media as being affiliated with opposing political parties in an attempt to discredit them as trusted and independent sources of public interest information.
The partners also sought to assess the impact that the draft bill on the Transparency in Public Life had on the work of journalists, media outlets and civil society. If passed, it would have allowed for the blacklisting, financial restriction and potential closure of media outlets receiving foreign funds, having a deeply chilling effect on media. For those able to remain open, they may be forced into exile to be able to continue reporting. The mission heard that the bill remains shelved, with no current indication Fidesz plans to reintroduce it ahead of the 2026 election.
However, the ruling party’s two-thirds parliamentary majority and recent extension of the state of emergency mean the bill could be passed immediately, without public consultation. Many representatives spoke of the uncertainty this proposed bill caused, as well as the resources expended by many to establish contingency plans to ensure they can continue their vital work. With its reintroduction still a possibility, the bill continues to pose an existential threat to what remains of Hungary’s free press.
The Platform further notes that although the foreign funding bill was withdrawn, the Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO), the Government office that would be charged with overseeing the proposed law, has spearheaded the attempted delegitimization of media which receive any form of foreign funding or grant, portraying them as foreign agents and traitors. The SPO’s reports have fed wider online harassment and hate against journalists working for these titles online and on social media, including referring to independent journalists as “political pressure groups”. The SPO has also supported campaigns led by the ruling Fidesz party to target journalists and civil society such as the smearing of leading independent outlets and NGOs.
The Platform’s partners are also concerned about the rise of legal harassment directed at journalists and media outlets, including abusive claims based on GDPR regulations or press correction procedures. While we support processes to hold journalists to account and ensure inaccuracies are addressed, we are concerned by reports that this process has been used to target factual if critical reporting. With the capture of Hungary’s courts by the ruling party a persistent issue, such legal harassment can have a disproportionate impact on public interest reporting.
No progress has been made by Hungarian authorities in aligning domestic law with the EU’s European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) since its full entry to effect in August 2025. Those we met confirmed the absence of any engagement with media outlets or civil society towards this goal. Instead, the Hungarian government has presented the regulation as an authoritarian dictat from Brussels and has challenged the EMFA before the European Court of Justice, seeking to have it nullified.
Following revelations about the abuse of zero-click spyware Pegasus against multiple journalists by Hungarian intelligence services in 2021, initial investigations by the prosecutors failed to provide answers and, to date, no individual or authority has been held responsible for these attacks on journalistic privacy and source protection. Unjustified national security justifications have been used to shield the responsible state institutions from accountability, resulting in a state of impunity.
Beyond such surveillance, the partners also discussed the threat of Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks, a form of digital censorship which left the websites of more than 40 different media offline for several hours after a spate of attacks in recent years. Although police arrested an individual they claim is responsible earlier this year, it is unclear when they will face trial and questions remain over whether the cyber-attacks were carried out with external coordination and resources.
The Platform partners note that after the mission ended, the Hungarian portfolio of Ringier, a Swiss media company, which includes the most popular tabloid, Blikk, was purchased by Indamedia, a pro-government media group. The acquisition, made ahead of next year’s election, is yet another example of the consolidation of media under ownership of private business interests close to the government and looks likely to further erode media pluralism in Hungary ahead of the vote.
Despite severe pressures on media freedom, quality and independent journalism continues to exist in Hungary and a cohort of outlets maintain a strong commitment to fact-based, public interest reporting. This is reinforced by high-levels of public support, which has translated to significant subscription funding and solidarity when an outlet is targeted. However, these outlets continue to face sustained economic, political and legal challenges and their foothold remains extremely fragile.
The platform delegation included representatives from the Platform secretariat, ARTICLE 19, Committee to Protect Journalists, European Broadcasting Union, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, European Federation of Journalists, Index on Censorship, International Federation of Journalists, International Press Institute and Reporters Without Borders.
Prior to the commencement of the mission, partners reached out to organise meetings with the Prime Minister and the SPO. On behalf of the Prime Minister, Zoltan Kovacs confirmed that he was unavailable to meet due to prior commitments, while the partners never received a response from the SPO.
Signed by:
Index on Censorship
ARTICLE 19
International Press Institute (IPI)
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
Justice for Journalists Foundation
Committee to Protect Journalists
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Rory Peck Trust
Association of European Journalists (AEJ)
PEN International
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
17 Oct 2025 | Europe and Central Asia, France, News
It is understandable that we have been distracted by events in the Middle East over the past week. The release of the Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners ahead of a ceasefire in the deadly two-year-long war in Gaza is a potentially epoch-making event – even if not quite the most significant for 3,000 years, as Donald Trump has suggested. But the peace deal has overshadowed events much closer to home.
France has been in a state of political deadlock for months. At the beginning of this month, on 6 October Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned and then found himself reappointed within the week. He is now attempting to avoid votes of no confidence introduced by the far-right National Rally and hard-left France Unbowed by suspending President Macron’s plans for pension reform.
This may all sound very technical and “continental”, but France matters. An unstable France means an unstable Europe. Macron may yet avoid the collapse of his presidency, and with it the Fifth Republic, but he will struggle to stop the slide towards a creeping populism of the right and left.
We ignore what is happening in France at our peril. We have watched the drift towards populism and authoritarianism across Europe. But our nearest neighbour could yet become the latest example of a “hybrid democracy” on the lines of Hungary. Some would say it is already halfway there. This is due, in part, to a phenomenon that has received scant coverage in the UK, possibly because it is such a mouthful in English: the so-called “Bollorisation” of the French media.
The term is named after Vincent Bolloré, sometimes known as “the French Murdoch”, a billionaire whose family-controlled Vivendi group dominates the media on the other side of the Channel. The parallels with Murdoch provide a useful shorthand but Bolloré really is a quite distinct figure whose media organisations directly support the ideology of the French far right. Although he has officially retired, Bolloré’s influence remains significant, and his organisations have been credited with propelling Marine Le Pen’s National Rally into the mainstream.
The beginnings of Bollorisation can be traced back at least ten years to the purchase of the broadcaster Canal+, France’s main pay-to-view channel. The emergence of CNews, a 24-hour right-wing news channel modelled on Fox News smashed the dominance of public broadcaster France TV (which owns France 2 – formerly Antenne 2 – and France 3). Bolloré then began his march through the French media world. His acquisition of Prism Media in 2021 gave him a dominant position in print and digital magazines including business, lifestyle, travel titles and even TV guides. Two years later, after a long battle with the European regulatory authorities, Vivendi purchased the giant French publishing house Hachette, which also owns the publishing group Little, Brown in the USA and the UK. But Bollorisation doesn’t stop there. The far-right billionaire now also owns the radio channel Europe 1, the iconic French celebrity and news magazine Paris Match and France’s only Sunday newspaper, Le Journal de Dimanche, which has shifted its editorial line from the political centre to the far right. Meanwhile, Bolloré also owns the Havas Group, a giant international advertising and PR agency, which helps manage the reputation of the empire.
Investigative journalists and media freedom organisations in Europe have been warning about Bollorisation for years. Mediapart, the independent French investigative publication, has compiled a huge ongoing dossier on the subject. After the French elections last year almost delivered power to the National Rally, Mediapart’s Antton Rouget wrote: “The work of media outlets controlled by the Bolloré Group during those elections set a new precedent: while major corporations have always thrown their weight behind campaigns in a bid to influence public debate, never before had one done so as openly and unapologetically, with the clear aim of helping the far-right into power.”
There are many theories about why France was so vulnerable to Bollorisation. But there is general agreement that the French media was already in the hands of too few people. And when traditional media owners looked at declining advertising revenue they were all too happy to sell. A weak regulatory landscape and Bolloré’s tightly-focused right-wing mission made for a perfect storm.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which is based in Paris has consistently expressed its concern about Bolloré’s tactics, including the use of the courts to silence investigations into his empire. Earlier this year RSF published a report into the billionaire’s use of non-disclosure agreements and non-disparagement clauses to protect him from criticism. The report was commissioned after Jean-Baptiste Rivoire, a former journalist at Canal+, was fined 150,000 euros for questioning Bolloré’s methods in an RSF documentary, Le Système B.
The Heinrich Böll Stiftung which is aligned to Germany’s Green party, has also raised concerns about the crisis of media freedom in France concluding baldly: “France is an outlier among other major European democracies for the mediocrity of its media system and the strong position of the far right within mass media”.
An Atlanticist tendency in the British media and among the political classes means Europe is too often a blind spot. Shamefully few British politicians or journalists speak a European language, and many are focused on Washington politics to the point of obsession. This partly explains why the coverage of France is so poor beyond the heroic efforts of the Paris correspondents and a handful of French commentators based in the UK.
But there really is no excuse. There is a cultural and political crisis in France that deserves our attention. Bollorisation may be a mouthful, but we need to start talking about it, to avoid a different version of the phenomenon happening here.
You may also want to read our recent article on the controversy over Spitting Image’s parody of Paddington. StudioCanal, which is controlled by the Bolloré Group, is pursuing legal action against the comedy programme over its portrayal of the beloved bear.
