Czech FM pushes EU to support Radio Free Europe after US funding cut
mz/hw
16.03.2025, 17:37
Photo by Gints Ivuskans/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
podpis źródła zdjęcia
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský will push for a European response to U.S. funding cuts for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) at Monday’s European Union foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, warning that the decision threatens democracy in authoritarian states.
Lipavský called for a broader political discussion on the broadcaster’s future, emphasizing its historical and present-day role in providing independent news to countries under authoritarian rule.
“From Belarus to Iran, from Russia to Afghanistan, RFE and Voice of America are among the few free sources for people living without freedom,” he posted on social media on Saturday.
The U.S. administration, led by President Donald Trump, froze funding for several state-backed media outlets over the weekend, putting journalists on leave at RFE/RL and Voice of America.
The White House framed the move as a cost-cutting measure and a crackdown on “radical propaganda.”
The decision has sparked concern in Prague, where RFE/RL has been headquartered since 1994. Lipavský called the cuts “a loss for everyone who believes in democracy” and suggested that Europe explore “how to at least partially maintain” the broadcaster’s operations.
RFE/RL President Stephen Capus warned that the funding halt was “a gift to America’s enemies.” Press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders condemned the move as a betrayal of the U.S. commitment to independent journalism.
Meanwhile, Trump allies, including senior U.S. Agency for Global Media adviser Kari Lake, defended the cuts, arguing the agency was wasting taxpayer dollars, with projected savings of $700 million by 2026.
Billionaire Elon Musk, a key figure in Trump’s administration, dismissed RFE/RL as “radical left crazy people talking to themselves” in a post on X, the platform he owns.
Lipavský’s push for EU involvement was echoed by Czech MEP Danuše Nerudová, who said she would raise the issue in the European Parliament.
