Between 19 and 21 May, Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partner organisations will conduct a press freedom mission to Zagreb, Croatia. The mission aims to engage with public authorities and media representatives on key recommendations from the MFRR monitoring mission report and stress the urgent need for Croatia to fully implement the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive and ensure the effective application of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).
The report ‘Precarity and political pressures: addressing challenges undermining media freedom in Croatia,’ published in February 2025, underscores the critical importance of addressing legal threats to journalists in Croatia – including criminal defamation, restrictions on judicial transparency, weak labour protections, and the proper and timely application of the EMFA.
Since January 2024 to May 16, 2025 Mapping Media Freedom (MapMF) has recorded 31 alerts involving 39 journalists and media workers in Croatia. Approximately 67% incidents involved verbal attacks, including around 41% cases of intimidation. Three incidents were linked to election coverage, and five to environmental reporting, with the latest example from May 10, 2025 when a Nova TV reporter and crew member were attacked while covering the environmental degradation along the Una River.
The delegation will assess press freedom in Croatia, review progress on recommendations, evaluate state responses to media violations, and verify reported delays in implementing EMFA. The MFRR will meet with government officials, judicial representatives, the Ombudsperson’s office, local publishers, and journalists. The mission will conclude with a meeting with the EU representation in Zagreb.
The mission will be led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and joined by representatives from ARTICLE 19 Europe, Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the International Press Institute (IPI), and OBC Transeuropa (OBCT).
A mission report detailing updates of previous findings and recommendations will be published following the visit. The report will then be shared with EU institutions and relevant international bodies. The mission aims to foster accountability, improve protection mechanisms for journalists, and support Croatia’s alignment with European media freedom standards.
A press conference will be held in Zagreb, on Wednesday, 21 May at 13:30h in the premises of the Croatian Journalists’ Association. For more information, or to schedule interviews with mission participants, please contact [email protected].
