EU to provide €5.5 million in emergency funds to help keep Radio Free Europe afloat

The European Union has agreed 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 programs are aired in 27 languages in 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.

Its lawyers have been fighting the administration's decision in court.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc’s foreign ministers had agreed to a €5.5 million contract to "support the vital work of Radio Free Europe."

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas rings a bell to signify the start of a meeting of defence ministers in Brussels, 20 May, 2025 (EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas rings a bell to signify the start of a meeting of defence ministers in Brussels, 20 May, 2025)

The "short-term emergency funding" is a "safety net" for independent journalism, she said.

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 states would also provide more funds to help Radio Free Europe in the long term.

Kallas said the bloc has been looking for "strategic areas" where it can help as the United States slashes foreign aid.

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.

A view into the Radio Free Europe newsroom, 18 May, 1971 (A view into the Radio Free Europe newsroom, 18 May, 1971)

Last month, a US federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore $12 million (€10 million) in funds that were 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, Kallas recalled the influence that the network had on her as she was growing up in Estonia, which was then 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."