The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2023 is now accepting submissions. Once again, the prestigious award celebrates the best investigative stories published in the previous calendar year and open to journalists from the Western Balkans and Türkiye.

This year, as well as national awards, the EU Award is introducing a regional award for the best stories from the entire region based on clearly defined criteria. This new category is an exciting development that will encourage journalists to think beyond national borders and tackle issues that affect the entire region.

The annual award fund for each of the countries is 10,000 euros and the prize fund for regional awards is also 10,000 euros. The three best stories of the year are awarded, and the amount for national and regional prizes is 5,000 euros (first place), 3,000 (second), and 2,000 (third).

Stories that can be nominated should contribute to freedom of expression, the rule of law and transparency. They should cover a variety of topics affecting national and regional economies, challenges to countries’ EU integration processes and issues such as organised crime, corruption, the rise of extremism, various forms of foreign influence, human rights violations, including those in the digital sphere, as well as other topics with which the public would not otherwise be familiar.

Entries can be nominated for the national or regional award, or for both, and this possibility is offered through the application form itself. Additionally, one candidate may apply to the competition with several stories.

The winners from the national awards in the Western Balkan region and Türkiye automatically become candidates for the regional EU award for investigative journalism, if their application form so states. The jury for both the national and the regional awards consists of local and international media experts, editors, members of academia and journalists with merits.

The organiser of the award is Thomson Media, an organisation with decades of experience in media development and the promotion of media freedom on a global level.

The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2023 is part of the project Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II. It aims to recognise and promote outstanding achievements in investigative journalism as well as improve the visibility of quality journalism in the Western Balkans and Türkiye.

The project is funded by the European Union, and is being implemented by a consortium composed of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – BIRN Hub, Central European University (CEU) – Hungary, Association of Journalists (AJ) – Türkiye, Thomson Media (TM) – 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).

The deadline for submissions is June 20, 2023, by midnight CET.

For more details, contact euawards@thomsonmedia.de.

To download all necessary documents for English click here

To download all necessary documents for Serbia click here

To download all necessary documents for Kosovo click here

To download all necessary documents for Bosnia and Herzegovina click here

To download all necessary documents for Montenegro click here

To download all necessary documents for North Macedonia click here

To download all necessary documents for Albania click here

To download all necessary documents for Turkey click here