EU will provide emergency funds for Radio Free Europe after US cuts
The European Union agreed on Tuesday to provide emergency funds to help keep Radio Free Europe afloat after the Trump administration stopped grants to the pro-democracy media outlet, accusing it of promoting a news agenda with a liberal bias.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty started broadcasting during the Cold War. Its programmes are aired in 27 languages in 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Its lawyers have been fighting the administration in court.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc’s foreign ministers had agreed to a 5.5-million-euro (£4.62 million) contract to “support the vital work of Radio Free Europe”.
‘Safety net’
The “short-term emergency funding” is a “safety net” for independent journalism, she said.
Ms Kallas said the EU would not be able to fill the organisation’s funding gap around the world, but that it can help the broadcaster to “work and function in those countries that are in our neighbourhood and that are very much dependent on news coming from outside”.
She said that she hoped the 27 EU member countries would also provide more funds to help Radio Free Europe longer term.
Ms Kallas said the bloc has been looking for “strategic areas” where it can help as the United States cuts foreign aid.
Czech Republic
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s corporate headquarters are in Washington and its journalistic headquarters are based in the Czech Republic, which has been leading the EU drive to find funds.
Last month, a US federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore 12 million dollars (£9 million) that was appropriated by Congress.
Lawyers for the service, which has been operating for 75 years, said it would be forced to shut down in June without the money.
In March, Ms Kallas recalled the influence that the network had on her as she was growing up in Estonia, which was part of the Soviet Union.
“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.”
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Trump is an idiot. He yanked all the US soft power and russia and china are rushing in to hoover the countries up to their power circle.
It’s another example of the US ditching Europe. In the long run it’s for the best. Europe must stand on it’s own two feet and that includes the UK or any future independent British isles countries. It was always a foolish thing to do, relying too much on the States.