EFJ and NUNS: Disturbing pressures and the erosion of professional standards at Euronews Serbia must cease.

According to the information we have received, employees at the Euronews Serbia newsroom are facing serious pressures from management and the editorial board, including censorship, unprofessional demands, a ban on questioning certain government representatives, and sanctions for refusing to comply with such orders. Several journalists have already left this media house due to this approach to work and the erosion of fundamental journalistic principles.

It is particularly concerning that employees are openly warned that they "must be aware of who owns the media" if they wish to keep their jobs, which further indicates a serious threat to freedom of expression and editorial independence. We remind you that the owner of Euronews Serbia is Telekom Serbia, which is predominantly state-owned.

The situation has further escalated with the publication of a statement under the name Euronews Serbia, which contains highly inappropriate and manipulative qualifications regarding the civic protests in front of Radio-Television of Serbia, and which was not signed by the editorial board. More than 80 journalists from this newsroom publicly distanced themselves from that text, emphasizing that it is not in line with their professional beliefs or the Code of Journalists of Serbia.

In addition to the incidents that have already been documented in previous months, employees at Euronews Serbia are now facing direct threats from the employer after they exercised their legal right to publicly express disagreement with the recent official statement from the media house. These actions, which appear to be retaliatory, represent a clear violation of the Law on Public Information and Media, which explicitly prohibits punishing journalists for publicly expressed opinions.

According to journalists at Euronews Serbia, threats, including warnings about layoffs, come directly from the regional director. Employees have also been informed about upcoming "rationalization" measures, including layoffs and planned reductions in the volume of editorially shaped content, allegedly due to insufficient results. These measures are expected to take effect in the next two months. However, new employees continue to be hired during the same period, raising serious doubts about the credibility and consistency of claims regarding technological redundancy. On the very day the reduction in staff was announced, a new journalist joined the newsroom.

These events followed after a significant majority of employees at Euronews Serbia—including journalists, editors, cameramen, technicians, production coordinators, and other media workers—publicly expressed disagreement with management's stance. Since then, the work schedule has been drastically changed in a way that is extremely exhausting and unsustainable for employees. An entire shift of a group of workers was removed from the schedule without a clear explanation. Among employees, there is growing concern that these changes are aimed at creating the appearance of technological redundancy to justify impending layoffs.

We remind you that freedom of the media is guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Serbia, as well as international documents that recognize the freedom of public information as a fundamental human right. Censorship, threats, blackmail, and pressures on journalists are completely unacceptable in a democratic society.

We demand that the management and editorial board of Euronews Serbia immediately cease such practices and ensure conditions for the free and professional work of all employees, without fear of repression. Particularly, they must stop pressures such as threats of layoffs and disciplinary warnings issued due to professional integrity. Any attempt to suppress media freedoms and violate the rights of journalists must be firmly condemned.

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) will continue to support all journalists who are fighting for their right to work freely, in accordance with laws, professional standards, and their conscience. We will inform all domestic institutions and international organizations that deal with media freedom and the protection of journalists.

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS)