Seven EU countries back Czech plan to fund Radio Free Europe

Seven European Union countries are supporting a Czech initiative for the bloc to take over funding Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) following cuts in US support, Politico reported on 18 March, citing diplomatic sources.

This development comes after RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus announced that the media organization had its federal grant agreement canceled, which had previously funded its global operations.

The funding cuts follow President Donald Trump’s 14 March executive order directing the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and six other lesser-known agencies to reduce their activities to the minimum required by law, citing a need to cut bureaucracy.

Following the funding freeze, employees have been placed on administrative leave, instructed to return equipment, and are effectively unable to perform their duties, leaving the organization’s future uncertain.

Germany and several Nordic and Baltic nations are among the countries backing the Czech proposal, viewing RFE/RL as “a crucial source of information in places where democratic rights are either MIA or under threat,” according to the report.

The Czech Republic, where Radio Free Europe is headquartered, raised the issue on 17 March during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas addressed the initiative, telling journalists: “We can’t automatically step in to replace the US, but countries had started discussing to find a way to see what we can do.”