Working conditions for journalists in Luxembourg have worsened
« The worldwide situation of freedom of the press is on a historical low, » said the journalist NGO « Reporter Without Borders » (ROG) When publishing their annual ranking of press freedom. In it, Rog evaluates the situation in a total of 180 countries. This situation has also deteriorated in the large region. Luxembourg and its neighboring countries slide slightly in this new study compared to 2024.
Germany fell out of the top 10 of the ranking and is now in 11th place. Luxembourg was taken last year, which is now in 13th place.
In this way, the rights and protection of journalists should be strengthened
On Tuesday, the Minister of Justice Elisabeth Margue (CSV) an action plan to strengthen the security of journalists. Misch Pautsch, Vice President of the Press Council, welcomed this plan. He recalled that there are also problems in Luxembourg. As an example he cited the Case of journalist Charlotte Wirththat had moved to court last year because the Ministry of the Interior refused to publish documents.
However, the Grand Duchy is still in front of the other two neighboring countries Belgium (18) and France (25).
Increasing authoritarianism and economic pressure
The following countries are represented among the top ten: Norway, Estonia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
In 90 out of 180 countries examined, the situation for media professionals is classified as « difficult » or « very serious ». More than half of the world’s population lives in states that fall into this category. « In addition to a fragile security situation and increasing authoritarianism, economic pressure is primarily responsible for this, » explains Rog in a press release.
| Rank | country | Number of points |
| 1 | Norway | 92.31 |
| 2 | Estonia | 89.46 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 88.64 |
| 4 | Sweden | 88.13 |
| 5 | Finland | 87.18 |
| 6 | Denmark | 86.93 |
| 7 | Ireland | 86.92 |
| 8 | Portugal | 84.26 |
| 9 | Switzerland | 83.98 |
| 10 | Czech Republic | 83.96 |
The Middle East and North Africa remain the most dangerous region for media professionals worldwide. « In Gaza, almost 200 journalists were killed in attacks by the Israeli army, almost 50 in connection with their work. No other war is as dangerous for media professionals as this, » said Rog. On the ROG ranking, the Palestinian areas are 163, Israel slipped to 112.
The situation in the United States (57) is also mentioned in the ROG report, since the Trump administration is open to the press. Among other things, the Associated Press news agency was denied access to the White House. According to ROG, Trump’s decision to drastically shorten the financial support of the US Development Authority USAID also has episodes for « hundreds of editorial offices worldwide that fear for their economic basis ».
Human rights: Trump as a « fire accelerator » in the crisis
Independent media in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are particularly affected. « In Ukraine (62), for example, about 90 percent of the editorial offices rely on financial subsidies that have so far mainly come from the United States, » writes Rog.
In the bottom is Eritrea in 180, followed by North Korea (179), China (178), Syria (177) and Iran (176). In the 2025 ranking, China fell back by six places and is behind Syria, which was able to improve by two places. That fell last December Assad regime after 13 years of civil war.
