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Stichting Free Press Unlimited

FPU

Stichting Free Press Unlimited is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Lobbying Activity

Response to EU’s next long-term budget (MFF) – EU funding for external action

28 Nov 2025

Free Press Unlimited submits the following joint recommendation, as member of the EU Media Advocacy Group. This document reflects a consolidated contribution from organisations working inside and outside the EU, committed to strengthening media freedom, information integrity and democratic resilience in partner countries. While we welcome the ambition of the Global Europe instrument to reinforce the EUs geopolitical and development objectives, the current proposal does not adequately recognise or resource independent journalism, media freedom, and information integrity as essential pillars of EU external action. Our submission calls for the explicit recognition of journalism as democratic and critical infrastructure; dedicated and long-term funding for public-interest media and resilient information ecosystems; strengthened crisis-response mechanisms; robust transparency, oversight, and anti-capture safeguards; and the integration of public-interest digital infrastructure, blended finance, and journalist-safety mechanisms into the instrument. These recommendations aim to ensure that Global Europe delivers the level of ambition required to counter foreign information manipulation and interference, address the structural decline of independent media, and reinforce democratic governance, accountability, and sustainable development in partner countries. The recommendations provided therefore set out the amendments needed to ensure that Global Europe fully aligns with EU and international commitments, including the UN Pact for the Future, the OECD Principles for Relevant and Effective Support to Media, and the Paris Declaration on Multilateral Action for Information Integrity and Independent Media. The full submission is attached in text format for your consideration.
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Response to EU’s next long-term budget (MFF) – EU funding for cross-border education, training and solidarity, youth, media, culture, and creative sectors, values, and civil society

25 Nov 2025

Please find attached the full text of our submission on the AgoraEU programme, prepared jointly by the EU Media Advocacy Group of which Free Press Unlimited is a member. The document sets out our collective recommendations to ensure that AgoraEU delivers long-term, scalable, and systemic support for journalism and the wider public-interest information ecosystem. In line with the OECD Principles for Effective Support to Media, we call for dedicated multi-annual and core funding for independent, investigative, local, community, and cross-border media; robust editorial-independence safeguards; investment in public-interest digital infrastructure; and financial instruments that catalyse private capital without undermining editorial autonomy. The submission also emphasises the need to strengthen media literacy as a cross-cutting resilience pillar, with targeted support for underserved communities, innovative audience-engagement tools, and AI-supported verification. We highlight the importance of dedicated funding for journalistic safety, including legal and digital protection, emergency relocation, psychosocial support, and anti-SLAPP enforcement, and call for sustained support for fact-checking organisations. The full submission with detailed recommendations is attached in pdf format for your consideration.
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Meeting with Gesine Heinrich (Cabinet of Commissioner Marta Kos), Marko Makovec (Cabinet of Commissioner Marta Kos) and

11 Nov 2025 · Meeting with media organisations on media freedom in Serbia.

Meeting with Thijs Reuten (Member of the European Parliament)

24 Jun 2025 · Press Freedom in Gaza

Response to European Democracy Shield

26 May 2025

Support for democracy is part of the DNA of the European Union but it also serves its self-interest. Strengthening EU values simultaneously means boosting the resilience and therefore security of the societies of EU Member States and that of its neighbourhood. Evidence shows that a more democratic world is a more peaceful world. Independent journalism is a crucial cornerstone of a free, democratic, strong, and secure Europe. Free Press Unlimited therefore welcomes the European Commissions initiative for a European Democracy Shield and calls for a robust, systemic approach to safeguarding media freedom as a cornerstone of European democracy. A robust media sector working in the public interest is one of the strongest guarantees against the harmful effects of disinformation and polarisation. Yet, press and media freedom in the EU face growing threats from economic disruption by Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), increasing violence and intimidation against journalists, strategic lawsuits (SLAPPs), and the misuse of technologies like AI and spyware. The independent media sector cannot be a robust counterbalance to the barrage of disinformation without stronger support. To ensure that the European Democracy Shield effectively responds to the press freedom challenges in Europe, Free Press Unlimited (together with the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response, and the European Partnership for Democracy) raise the following priorities: 1. Independent media struggle economically due to a broken advertising model that has shifted revenue to VLOPs, compounded by increasing reliance on unstable donor funding. The Democracy Shield must address this by reforming the media market, ensuring fair compensation for journalistic content, incentivizing media innovation, and establishing secure, long-term funding mechanisms. 2. The safety of journalists is deteriorating across Europe, with a rise in physical attacks, online harassment, and surveillance. The Democracy Shield must address this by promoting a robust support infrastructure, strengthen the European Protection Mechanism, and implement comprehensive responses to online threats. In addition, legal safeguards are essential to defend against SLAPPs and chilling foreign-agent-style laws that target independent media outlets. The Democracy Shield should champion further anti-SLAPP measures, push for decriminalization of defamation, and act against vague legislation that could target independent media. 3. With AI posing new challengessuch as content scraping, misinformation, and deepfakesthe Democracy Shield must enforce AI transparency, uphold authorship rights, and protect against spyware abuses. 4. The growth of coordinated disinformation campaigns, cybersquatting, spoofing, and other types of digital deception make it crucial to promote media literacy and informed digital engagement. The Democracy Shield must address this by improving legislation to address spoofing and digital deception. Through ambitious action across all of these fronts, the EU can secure a resilient, pluralistic media landscape essential to democracy.
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Meeting with Marie-Helene Boulanger (Head of Unit Justice and Consumers) and EBU-UER (European Broadcasting Union) and

22 May 2025 · Consultation of media representatives and associations in the context of the preparation of the upcoming European Democracy Shield (“focus group”).

Meeting with Simona Constantin (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová) and European Federation of Journalists and

16 May 2024 · anti-SLAPP

Meeting with Daniel Freund (Member of the European Parliament) and Transparency International Liaison Office to the European Union and

1 Feb 2024 · The Rule of Law ahead of the EU elections

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Vice-President)

23 Nov 2023 · European Media Freedom Act, anti-SLAPP, safety of journalists

Meeting with Thijs Reuten (Member of the European Parliament)

31 Oct 2023 · General exchange of views

Meeting with Thijs Reuten (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Jan 2022 · Press Freedom

Meeting with Thijs Reuten (Member of the European Parliament)

23 Nov 2021 · Press Freedom

Meeting with Renate Nikolay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

12 May 2021 · Media Pluralism

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Vice-President)

5 Nov 2020 · Keynote speech at Free Press Live 2020

Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

28 Oct 2020 · EDAP, Media freedom, Media pluralism

Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová) and ARTICLE 19 and

19 Jun 2020 · Broad introduction to Media Freedom Rapid Response

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Vice-President) and

20 Apr 2020 · Freedom of press and rights of journalists

Response to EU Action Plan of Gender equality and women’s empowerment in external relations for 2021-2025

27 Mar 2020

The media can play a transformative role in achieving gender equality. However, they also tend to perpetuate stereotypes and inequalities. Women only make up 24% of the persons heard, read about or seen in newspaper, television and radio news (Global Monitoring Project, 2015). This is also reflected in the lack of women’s participation and voices in the media sector, where 73% of management board positions are occupied by men (IWMF, 2011). In addition, female journalists face specific challenges, such as higher rates of precarious work, and gender-based violence both in the field and in the workplace. The GAP III is a key opportunity to use the EU global leverage to address the role of the media in achieving gender equality. As highlighted by EIGE in its 5th review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States (2019), “the media has only rarely been directly addressed within the EU’s overarching gender equality commitments and measures.” The right to access information is crucial for self-determination and the full enjoyment of economic, political and social rights. It is also a precondition for a healthy civic space, and support women’s rights organisations in exerting influence. For these reasons, the GAP III should include the 4 following priorities: 1. Supporting the media and journalists in developing online and offline gender-sensitive content 2. Tackling gender barriers to the right to information, such as fewer educational opportunities and restricted access to ICT 3. Addressing specific forms of violence against female journalists 4. Supporting increased female participation and decision-making in the media sector In addition: - The GAP II priority on shifting the EU institutional culture should be renewed in the GAP III, with technical training and assistance on gender stereotypes - The EU must use external instruments such as dialogues and country strategies to raise the issues of safety of female journalists and gender barriers to the right to information - Targeted actions on gender equality in and through the media should be implemented, such as developing gender-transformative content, providing online and physical training - Networks of female journalists, as well as women’s rights and press freedom organisations must be closely involved throughout the lifespan of the GAP III More details about each recommendation is available in the attached document. Free Press Unlimited is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Brussels, Belgium. Our mission is to ensure that impartial news and information are available to people across the globe. We believe gender equality in and through the media is essential to achieve our long-term goal, for journalists to function as change agents and to contribute to a diverse and professional media landscape.
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Response to Gender equality in the EU

13 Feb 2020

Media today, from traditional legacy media to online media, still hugely influence our perceptions about the role of girls and women in society. What we have unfortunately seen until now is that they tend to perpetuate gender inequality. Research shows that from a young age, children are influenced by the gendered stereotypes that media present to them. It also shows that exposure to stereotypical gender portrayals correlates with traditional perception of gender roles and attitudes towards trajectories of life*. The Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2024 is a key opportunity to promote gender equality in and through the media. We are concerned that the priority areas identified do not cover the crucial role of media in achieving gender equality. This is a huge opportunity that is lost. As highlighted by EIGE in its 5th review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States (2019), “the media has only rarely been directly addressed within the EU’s overarching gender equality commitments and measures. Neither the European Commission's Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality 2016-2019 nor the Council of the EU's Pact for equality between women and men 2011-2020, specifically mention the media.” We are calling on the European Commission to: 1. Recognize the crucial role of media in achieving gender equality and its ability to create gender-sensitive and gender-transformative content. Women and girls remain largely invisible in media content or are frequently depicted in stereotypical ways, e.g. as victims of violence, and not often as leaders or experts, thus perpetuating any existing harmful cultural and societal roles. The new Gender Equality Strategy should foresee specific actions aiming to promote gender-equal portrayal by promoting self-regulatory equality policies in the media industry and supporting initiatives aiming to develop tools for gender-sensitive reporting and gender-equal portrayal. 2. The Strategy should address specific forms of violence against female journalists; harassment and sexual harassment both in the field and at the workplace. Lack of equal and safe working environment, as well as offline and online harassment and violence, are some of the specific forms of violence faced by female journalists. The Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2024 should contribute to the development of EU-wide data on online and offline violence against female journalists in order to better address these structural issues including impunity and shape adequate EU and national responses. 3. Involve media organisations and journalists in the implementation and monitoring of the Strategy. Involvement of civil society is necessary for the Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2024 to advance gender equality and women’s rights. This includes networks of female journalists and women’s rights organisations in general. We believe they should be regularly consulted throughout the lifespan of the Strategy, in order to provide feedback on the state of its implementation. 4. Implement the Strategy in coherence with EU external policies (upcoming EU Gender Action Plan III and Action Plan on Democracy and Human Rights), the Beijing Platform for Action (BpfA strategic objectives J1 and J2), the SDGs (SDG 16.10 on safety of journalists (1) and access to information (2)) and the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention (Article 14 on education and article 17 on participation of the private sector and the media). Free Press Unlimited is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Amsterdam (NL). FPU believes that everyone has the right to independent, reliable and relevant information. Our mission is to ensure that impartial news and information are available to people across the globe, including in the EU. FPU actively fights gender inequality in and through the media worldwide. * Beyond the Stereotypes? Images of Boys and Girls, and their Consequences" Dafna Lemish & Maya Götz, 2017
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Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

3 Feb 2020 · Media freedom

Meeting with Kevin O'Connell (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová) and Whistleblowing International Network

21 Nov 2019 · Whistleblowers