he country dropped one place compared to 2024, solidifying its status as the EU’s worst performer for the fourth consecutive year.
According to RSF, Greece’s media landscape continues to be plagued by deep-rooted issues, notably conflicts of interest and a lack of accountability in cases involving journalists’ safety and surveillance. RSF specifically points to the unresolved 2021 murder of journalist Giorgos Karaivaz and the ongoing wiretapping scandal targeting reporters. Four years after Karaivaz’s assassination outside his home in Athens, no suspects have been brought to justice. At the same time, those responsible for the illegal surveillance of journalists have yet to be identified. This, says Pavol Szalai, RSF’s head of the EU and Balkans desk, plays a significant role in Greece’s persistently low ranking.
The country now ranks below others with controversial media climates, such as Hungary (68th) and Qatar (79th). Greece is also positioned one place below Malaysia and significantly behind several African nations. This backslide comes despite a brief improvement last year, which RSF attributes not to real progress, but to the deteriorating press environments in other countries.
More broadly, RSF’s 2025 report outlines an increasingly bleak global picture. For the first time since the index was established, press freedom is reported to be in a “difficult” situation globally. Economic pressures—particularly media closures, ownership concentration, reliance on private advertisers, and shrinking public subsidies—are severely undermining the viability of independent journalism.
Nearly 89 percent of countries assessed struggle to maintain financially stable media outlets, and about one-third have seen widespread newsroom closures.The United States, for example, dropped two places to 57th, amid what RSF describes as rising hostility toward journalists and a dramatic erosion of financial sustainability. Meanwhile, Palestine was ranked 163rd, as the war in Gaza has killed nearly 200 journalists, and Israel fell to 112th. Ukraine, despite being at war, climbed to 62nd thanks to foreign aid, including from the U.S.
Within Europe, RSF warns of growing gaps between east and west. In the Balkans, public broadcasters in countries like Bosnia, Serbia, and Slovakia face existential threats due to political interference and funding cuts. Even France, now 25th globally, has seen a decline, with concerns over media ownership consolidation and shrinking editorial independence.
