Patrick Penninckx, Head of the Information Society Department has addressed participants of the Regional Conference  “Media in times of War” which takes place in Tbilisi on 12-13 October. In his opening speech, the Council of Europe official described the challenges facing journalists in Europe today following the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine. He described the tragic situation of many journalists in Ukraine but also the complex situation with security and media freedom in Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan and Armenia. He also pinpointed the many actions the Council of Europe takes and general policies it promotes concerning freedom of expression and media freedom as well as specific action undertaken in these countries. He took this opportunity to announce the preparation of a Council of Europe Campaign on the Protection of Journalists under the motto “Journalists matter” to be launched in 2023 and called participants to contribute to the setting up of corresponding campaigns at national level.