Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Serbia (JUFREX)

What is the goal?

► To promote freedom of expression and freedom of the media and to improve the application of European standards in this domain;
► To ensure protection of journalists and contribute to creation of enabling, safer and more pluralistic media environment;
► To strengthen skills and knowledge of the actors who are responsible to apply such standards as part of their daily work, namely: judges, prosecutors, lawyers, police officers, employees of Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media, students and other media actors.

Who benefits from the Action?

► Training institutions for legal professionals (Judicial Academy and Bar Association of Serbia);
► Ministry of Interior;
► Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media;
► Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade;
► Judges, prosecutors, police officers, lawyers;
► Students;
► Through strengthened freedom of expression and freedom of the media and ensured right to seek, impart and receive information, citizens of Serbia will be able to genuinely participate in democratic processes.

How will the Action work?

► The Action builds upon a previous EU/CoE Regional Joint Programme Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South-East Europe (JUFREX);
► The capacity building activities for the various professional categories adopt a dynamic methodology for adult learning and peer-to-peer model;
► The action uses an inclusive approach in order to generate dialog between the different actors and relevant stakeholders;
► The strong interconnection between JUFREX Regional Action and JUFREX Action in Serbia ensures strengthened co-operation, exchange of good practices and lessons learnt.
What do we expect to achieve?
► Legal professionals – judges, prosecutors, lawyers and police officers improve application of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights case-law on freedom of expression;
► Professional capacities of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media are further strengthened;
► Faculty of Political Sciences and other relevant stakeholders contribute to an enabling environment for freedom of expression and freedom of the media.

How much will it cost?

► The total budget of the Action is 585.000 EUR;
► The budget allocated to the overall Horizontal Facility programme amounts to ca. 41 Million EUR (85% funded by the European Union, 15% by the Council of Europe).

How to get more information?

► Directorate General I: Human Rights and Rule of Law:
https://www.coe.int/en/web/freedom-expression/jufrex-2
► Martina Silvestri, Programme Manager, [email protected], +333 90 216 339
► Maja Stojanovic, Senior Project Officer, [email protected]; +381 11 71 555 10
► Irena Draskovic, Project Assistant, [email protected]; +381 11 71 555 15
► Horizontal Facility website: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/horizontal-facility/home
► Marija Simić, Horizontal Facility Communication Officer, [email protected], +381 63 601 337
► Besnik Baka, Horizontal Facility Communication Officer, [email protected], +355 69 217 8430