EU Approves Funding to Keep US News Site Afloat

The European Union on Tuesday agreed on emergency funds to help keep Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) operational after the Trump administration cut grants to the government’s pro-democracy media outlet, accusing it of having a liberal bias, the Associated Press reported. 

According to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s foreign ministers agreed to a $6.2 million contract to “support the vital work” of RFE/RL. The “short-term emergency funding” is a “safety net” to safeguard independent journalism.  

While the EU is not able to fill the outlet’s funding gap worldwide, Kallas said that the bloc can help RFE/RL – which started broadcasting during the Cold War to counter Soviet propaganda – to “work and function in those countries that are in our neighborhood and that are very much dependent on news coming from outside.” 

This emergency fund is a short-term solution, but Kallas said she hoped the 27 EU members would provide more money to sustain RFE/RL in the long term. Sweden said earlier this month it would donate about $2 million to the media outlet, according to Reuters. 

A US judge also ordered the Trump administration to restore a $12 million payment to RFE/RL for the month of April for the damages caused by the cuts, the Washington Post wrote.