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European Union government ministers are discussing ways to keep the pro-democracy media outlet afloat after the Trump administration stopped its grants over the weekend.
ADVERTISEMENTNow that Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has fallen victim to sweeping funding cuts by US President Donald Trump’s administration, the future of the pro-democracy media outlet is unclear.RFE/RL started broadcasting during the Cold War, and has played an important role reporting across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East eve since. Its programmes are aired in 27 languages in 23 countries.The outlet has also provided critical coverage in Ukraine, especially after Russia labelled Voice of America and Radio Free Europe “foreign agents”, adding RFE/RL to the list of “undesirable organisations” in 2024.Two trademark projects of RFE/RL in Ukraine — Crimea Realities and Donbas Realities — have also provided key sources of information about the Russian-occupied territories.Yet on Friday night, shortly after Congress passed its latest government funding bill, Trump instructed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law.These included the US Global Media Agency, a budget-funded government organisation that oversees outlets including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia, and Radio Marti, which broadcasts Spanish-language news to Cuba.“The cancellation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s grant agreement would be a massive gift to America’s enemies,” the network’s President and CEO, Stephen Capus, said in a statement in reaction to the move.Keeping Radio Free Europe afloatThe Czech Republic, which has hosted Radio Free Europe for 25 years, although its corporate headquarters is in Washington, is leading the push to keep the network alive. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has urged the EU to step up and support RFE/RL itself. After he raised the issue during Monday’s gathering of foreign ministers in Brussels, EU government ministers debated ways to keep RFE/RL afloat on Tuesday.Sweden’s European Affairs Minister Jessica Rozencrantz insisted on the need to ensure that “Radio Free Europe really continues to be an important voice for freedom and democracy, especially in those places where it is most needed”.“Sweden encourages all countries and the (European) Commission to really look into what we can do in terms of financing, to make sure that we continue to have a strong Radio Free Europe,” she told reporters in Brussels ahead of the meeting.On Monday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas recalled the influence the network had on her as she was growing up in Estonia, which was part of the Soviet Union when she was a child.“It is sad to hear that US is withdrawing its funding,” Kallas told reporters, after chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers.“Coming from the other side of the Iron Curtain, actually it was (from) the radio that we got a lot of information,” she said. “So, it has been a beacon of democracy, very valuable in this regard.”But coming up with funding may prove difficult.ADVERTISEMENTOn whether the EU can “fill the void the US is leaving”, Kallas said that “the answer to that question is not automatically, because we have a lot of organisations who are coming with the same request”.Still, Kallas added that “there was really a push from the foreign ministers to discuss this and find the way”.
