Now at home in the European Commission’s Midday Briefing, Hussein Hasan spent two decades reporting amid war, sectarian violence and government crackdowns in Baghdad, Turkey and Syria. Yet the France 24 correspondent still recalls the jolt of his arrival in Brussels. Standing outside the Berlaymont with a camera in hand, he half expected to be stopped and asked for press credentials.
Posted inNews
AFP reporter to interview Belgian PM’s cat
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has promised AFP’s EU correspondent Raziye Akkoc an exclusive interview with his cat, Maximus, after joking that he would only respond to questions “triggered” by the pet.
Posted inAnalysis, Media, News
Magyar’s Entry Opens Gap for anti-EU Media in Brussels
Two Euroskeptic media outlets, Brussels Signal and The European Conservative, stand to lose greatly following the defeat of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. But incoming prime minister Péter Magyar may also question the cost and sense of Hungary’s Euronews links, despite the journalists’ solid pan-European reporting.
Posted inMedia, News, Press freedom
EU Journalism Initiative Mulls Brussels Transparency Challenges
The erosion of transparency and access for Brussels-based journalists dominated discussion at the launch of the EU Journalism Initiative (EUJI) at the Brussels Press Club. The panel, featuring speakers from Investigate Europe, MLex and POLITICO Europe, quickly focused on what participants described as tightening control over information flows in the EU capital.
Posted inInterview, Press freedom
Ján Kuciak Trial Continues as Former MEP Sophie in ’t Veld Warns EU on Press Freedom
Former MEP Sophie in ’t Veld speaks on unresolved journalist murders in Europe, highlighting threats to press freedom, rule of law, and EU accountability.
Posted inNews, Press freedom
EU Defends Euronews Funding Amid Editorial Independence Row Before Hungary Election
The European Commission defends its long-standing financial backing of Euronews, insisting that editorial independence is a criteria of that support, as concerns mount over press freedom ahead of Hungary’s pivotal April 12 election.
Posted inBusiness, News
EU Commission Spends €1.3mn on News Subscriptions
The European Commission spent about €1.34 million in 2025 on digital subscriptions to five major news and information services, according to internal figures — but declined to disclose how the money was distributed, citing commercial confidentiality, even as it prepares to enforce sweeping new transparency rules on public-sector media spending.
Posted inNews, Press freedom
Belgian Authorities Cleared Journalist After Security Ban Over Alleged ‘Extreme-Left Contacts’
An Italian journalist based in Brussels was barred for months from covering the Council of the European Union after Belgian security authorities denied him clearance over alleged “contacts with the extreme left,” a decision later overturned by an independent appeals body.
Posted inInterview, Press freedom
Irma Dimitradze Leads Campaign to Free Jailed Sakharov Laureate Journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli
By Oliver Money-Kyrle. When Georgian journalist and 2025 Sakharov laureate Mzia Amaghlobeli was arrested in Batumi on January 12, 2025, she quickly became a symbol of the country’s embattled pro-democracy movement. More than a year later, Amaghlobeli remains in prison, serving a two-year sentence.
Posted inAnalysis
Eight Years After Jan Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová Murders, Slovakia Faces Critical Third Trial
By Oliver Money-Kyrle — Eight years after the assassination of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, the case remains emblematic of rule-of-law concerns within the European Union. Slovakia continues to grapple with a prosecution that reshaped its politics, toppled a government and exposed entrenched networks of corruption.