Journalists’ union requests review of press card validity

The Union of Cyprus Journalists (UCJ) on Monday proceeded to file a request of an ex officio examination regarding the accreditation procedures for the Cyprus’ EU presidency with the House interior committee.

“The invocation of this law simply proves the problematic approach to media issues by the state for almost 40 years, as it is an inactive law since 1990, with provisions that are now outdated and unenforceable,” the union said.

The controversy broke out after it was revealed that journalists wishing to be accredited for the Cyprus EU Presidency were required to present a state-issued press card and were not given the option of using their UCJ card instead.

“This decision is not simply an administrative arbitrariness, but a direct threat to press freedom,” the union said.

It urged all political factions to adopt a stance on the matter, calling for their support in the demand “for transparency, legitimacy and respect for “the self-regulation of the journalistic family”.

Appealing to the House interior committee, the union requested clarification on how “it is possible for the state to invoke an inactive law of 1989, which blatantly ignores television, radio and internet journalists.”

The union emphasised that as per legislation, the journalistic identity card is not issued by the state, but by an independent press council, which it said has “never functioned”.

Urging the Parliament to probe what it termed a “violation of European obligations”, the union said it sought clarifications regarding the reasons behind the government’s “refusal to implement recommendation 2016/4 of the Council of Europe”, which unequivocally acknowledges trade union journalistic ID cards as legitimate qualifications and had been endorsed by the government.

UCJ sharply criticised the government’s “attempt to impose state certification” for the coverage of European institutions, warning that this conflicted with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and demanded respect self-regulation of the media sector.

The union recalled that the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) had brought up the matter to the interior ministry in a relevant letter, stressing that the issuance of journalistic ID cards by a government body “violates European legal standards and is likely to be the subject of a complaint to the European media regulator and the European Board of Media Services (EBMS).”

It was reiterated that the EFJ had not ruled out taking the matter directly to the attention of the European Commission and the Council of Europe.

The issue had gained momentum with the emergence of information regarding the requirement for media representatives wishing to be accredited for Cyprus’ EU presidency to present a press card issued by the state as of February.

The option of using their UCJ card – issued by the EFJ – instead was not available to them.

The Cyprus government currently holds the rotating EU Council Presidency, running from 1 January to 30 June 2026.