Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
The fifth edition of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism has been launched.
It is run the European Parliament and seeks to reward top quality journalism.
The idea is to recognise journalists who promote or defend the core principles and values of the European Union. These are said to include human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, and human rights.
Commenting on the award, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said, “A free press is the best shield for democracy. Journalists must be free to report without fear of censorship, intimidation, or retaliation.”
“The European Parliament will always defend and stand up for media and press freedom.”
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism, said the MEP, honours those who “shine a light in the darkest corners — because speaking truth to power should never come with a price.”
She added, “The prize embodies European Parliament’s steadfast dedication to truth and free speech and belongs to every journalist who fights for the facts, no matter how uncomfortable they are. Journalistic freedom is what makes our democracy thrive.”
The Prize is open to professional journalists and teams of professional journalists of any nationality, who can submit in-depth pieces that have been published or broadcast by media based in one of the 27 EU countries.
The aim is to support and highlight the importance of professional journalism in safeguarding human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, and human rights.
An independent jury composed of representatives of the press and civil society from the 27 member states, as well as representatives of the main European journalists’ associations, will choose the winning entry.
The award ceremony takes place each year around 16 October, the date Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated.
The prize and the €20 000 prize money demonstrate the European Parliament’s strong support for investigative journalism and the importance of a free press. Over the last few years, Parliament has warned about attempts both in the EU and beyond to undermine media pluralism.
Parliament says it has repeatedly slammed attempts to limit press freedom and especially attacks against journalists, in any form and wherever they may come from. MEPs say they were instrumental in the effort that culminated in March 2024 in the European Media Freedom Act which protects media freedom and journalists’ safety and independence. They also pushed for years for rules to tackle malicious litigation, aiming to protect journalists and civil society from strategic lawsuits seeking to silence critical voices, and the EU’s anti SLAPP directive was finally approved in February 2024.
Journalists can submit their article(s) online at https://daphnejournalismprize.eu/ by 31 July 2025, before midnight.
