Purpose
To ensure that all internationally focused Directorates-General integrate media freedom , information integrity , and journalist safety across EU external action — from humanitarian response and development cooperation to neighbourhood and regional diplomacy.
Though each Directorate-General operates under a distinct mandate, they share a common responsibility : to make sure that every aspect of EU engagement abroad supports a safe, pluralistic, and trustworthy information environment.
Use this checklist during programme design, planning, and coordination phases to align actions and share learning across mandates.
🔗 Quick Navigation
1. Programming & Design · 2. Risk & Visibility · 3. Funding & Flexibility · 4. Coordination & Learning · 5. Measuring Impact & Accountability
🔹 1 Programming & Design 🟩 DG ECHO
Integrate visibility-risk and “do-no-harm” communication analysis in all missions.
Coordinate with INTPA and EEAS to link emergency communication with longer-term resilience.
Use field feedback loops to adapt humanitarian storytelling practices safely.
🟦 DG INTPA
Treat compliance and financial-management capacity as development outcomes.
Embed media-sector support in democracy, governance, and human-rights programmes.
Commission joint media-landscape and political-economy analyses before calls for proposals.
🟨 DG ENEST
Include media-freedom and transparency benchmarks in enlargement and partnership dialogues.
Simplify access for local outlets through micro-grant and mentoring schemes.
Align funding priorities across East and South teams to ensure regional coherence.
🟧 DG MENA
Separate public-diplomacy communication from independent-media funding.
Use diplomatic convening power to promote transparent information-integrity standards.
Encourage collaboration between regional media, tech actors, and civic groups.
🤝 All DGs
Embed “information integrity” as a cross-cutting priority across all instruments.
Link media support to governance, security, and economic-development goals.
🔹 2 Risk & Visibility 🟩 DG ECHO
Apply visibility-risk assessments before any public attribution.
Grant visibility waivers whenever disclosure could endanger partners.
Ensure staff receive training on safe communication in volatile contexts.
🟦 DG INTPA
Encourage Delegations to anonymise grantee data in repressive environments.
Recognise psychosocial and legal-safety support as eligible project costs.
Mainstream digital-security guidance in all media-related programmes.
🟨 DG ENEST
Provide clear guidance on visibility in sensitive political environments.
Protect journalists and CSO partners from being perceived as “EU mouthpieces.”
Promote awareness of anti-SLAPP and safety mechanisms through Delegations.
🟧 DG MENA
Minimise reputational exposure of partners working under restrictive regimes.
Coordinate with EEAS StratCom to balance transparency and discretion.
🤝 All DGs
Institutionalise joint visibility-risk frameworks and shared waiver criteria.
Include communication-safety audits in annual reviews.
🔹 3 Funding & Flexibility 🟩 DG ECHO
Combine emergency and bridging funds to maintain local media operations during crises.
Provide small, rapid-disbursement grants for field-based information services.
🟦 DG INTPA
Introduce multi-year, flexible funding windows blending core and project support.
Reward sustainability plans that diversify revenue and reduce donor dependency.
Pilot outcome-based funding tied to trust, reach, and pluralism metrics.
🟨 DG ENEST
Allow differentiated grant ceilings to include smaller, regional partners.
Coordinate with EED and Member-State instruments to avoid duplication.
🟧 DG MENA
Establish rapid-response and relocation mechanisms for journalists at risk.
Encourage cross-border cooperation funds for investigative or fact-checking networks.
🤝 All DGs
Encourage pooled-funding mechanisms with Member States and private foundations.
Build flexibility for rapid budget reallocation during political or security crises.
🔹 4 Coordination & Learning 🟩 DG ECHO
Share humanitarian-communication lessons through cross-DG learning sessions.
Document visibility-risk cases and circulate anonymised summaries.
🟦 DG INTPA
Establish an internal “information-integrity learning hub” drawing on Delegation insights.
Align monitoring and evaluation tools with OECD Principles 5 & 6.
🟨 DG ENEST
Lead regional knowledge-sharing between Enlargement and Neighbourhood partners.
Include local-media stakeholders in annual coordination meetings.
🟧 DG MENA
Create regional donor-coordination platforms for media and information-integrity projects.
Use periodic joint reviews with EEAS to assess cross-border impact.
🤝 All DGs
Maintain a shared repository of evaluations, risk logs, and successful approaches.
Encourage joint participation in TED Network and OECD learning events.
🔹 5 Measuring Impact & Accountability 🟩 DG ECHO
Track qualitative indicators — trust, access, safety — alongside quantitative outputs.
Share lessons learned from humanitarian communication with other DGs.
🟦 DG INTPA
Include media-ecosystem resilience indicators in evaluation frameworks.
Assess whether partners improve institutional capacity and compliance readiness.
🟨 DG ENEST
Link media-freedom progress to political-dialogue scorecards and annual reporting.
Publish anonymised summaries of results to strengthen transparency.
🟧 DG MENA
Commission periodic regional reviews on the state of media freedom.
Highlight examples of independent journalism contributing to stability and reform.
🤝 All DGs
Evaluate ecosystem-level impact, not just content output.
Incorporate findings into Brussels-level policy cycles and MFF planning.
🧭 How to Use This Checklist
Review during programme-design consultations and annual planning .
Mark actions as ✅ Done | 🔄 In progress | ❌ Not yet started.
Record concrete examples in Delegation reports and share through the coordination forum.
Update annually alongside OECD Principle reviews.
