Honouring top investigative stories from the Western Balkans and Türkiye that champion transparency, accountability, and public interest
Investigative journalists from the Western Balkans and Türkiye are invited to submit their best work for the 2025 EU Award for Investigative Journalism. The call is now officially open, with a deadline set for 16 June 2025 at midnight (CET).
The award continues its mission to celebrate and promote outstanding investigative reporting that contributes to transparency, accountability, and the public interest.
Journalists must submit stories that were published during the previous calendar year, addressing topics such as corruption, organised crime, extremism, foreign influence, human rights violations (including digital rights), and other issues vital to national and regional discourse.
National and Regional Awards
As in previous years, awards will be given in each of the participating countries. In addition, a regional award will recognise the best cross-border or regionally relevant investigative stories for the second year in a row as well as those that include regional collaboration.
The national awards fund amounts to €10,000 per country, while the regional award fund also totals €10,000. Each award level includes a first prize of €5,000, second prize of €3,000, and third prize of €2,000.
Stories nominated for the regional award must be submitted in English translation. Applicants can submit their work for the national award, the regional award, or both – up to a total of three entries per journalist or team.
How the Selection Works
An esteemed jury composed of local and international media experts, journalists and editors will ensure a fair and thorough evaluation. National jury members are allowed to propose entries for the regional award even if they weren’t originally nominated for that level. If such entries don’t win nationally but meet the criteria, they will still be eligible for regional consideration.
Organised by Thomson Media
The EU Award is organised by Thomson Media, an organisation known for its commitment to media freedom and professional journalism. The award is part of the “Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II” project, funded by the European Union.
The project is implemented by a regional consortium composed of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN Hub), Central European University (CEU) – Hungary, Association of Journalists (AJ) – Türkiye, Thomson Media – Germany, University Goce Delcev Stip (UGD) – North Macedonia, The Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) – North Macedonia, Media Association of South-East Europe (MASE) – Montenegro, and Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Kosovo (BIRN Kosovo).
Deadline: 16 June 2025, Midnight (CET)
In case of further questions, please contact [email protected].
To download all necessary documents, click here.
