Free Europe in danger
19 March 2025
Does the world need free media to reach people in non-democratic countries? Donald Trump doesn't believe so. At least not as long as the US is paying for it. On Friday, his government cut funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), which is heavily dependent on US funding. While it's still live at the moment, the media is on the verge of shutdown.
RFE/RL has been operating for 75 years. During the Cold War, it delivered uncensored information from the West to the audiences on the other side of the Iron Curtain. While that is history, the importance of RFE/RL's broadcasting is no smaller today.
The outlet currently reaches up to 50 million listeners in countries without a free press. It broadcasts to many Eastern European countries and elsewhere, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Iran. For the locals in these countries, it is often the only uncensored source of information in their native language. When RFE/RL disappears, many will be left only with state-run propaganda.
The European headquarters of RFE/RL is located in Prague, Czechia – not by coincidence. Václav Havel, the first democratic president of Czechoslovakia after the fall of communism, invited the organisation to the country. It was an expression of gratitude for its role in weakening the authoritarian regime. Now, there is a nervous cloud around the newsroom building, with journalists fearing losing their jobs.
 | Eli Volencová Can Europe save RFE/RL? The Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, quickly raised this issue at an EU ministerial meeting. He argued it is within the EU's capacity to keep RFE/RL alive. "Unsurprisingly, member countries that experienced Soviet influence in the past supported this matter. There is no concrete plan yet, but I can see the political will is there," Lipavský said after the meeting on Monday. Currently, RFE/RL's annual budget amounts to €130 million, which is about the amount the EU would need to provide to keep its operations running. Some critics claim it's an unnecessary expense out of the EU's pocket, but the outlet's relevance to Europe is greater and more direct than one might think. RFE/RL also operates in the Baltics, for instance, reaching the significant Russian minority in their mother tongue. |
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