European Union to Allocate 5.5 Million Euros in Aid to Radio Liberty

The European Union has agreed to allocate 5.5 million euros as urgent aid to the media corporation Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). This was announced by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Tuesday. Kallas said the foreign policy chiefs of the European bloc’s member states agreed on the package “to support the vital work of Radio Free Europe”. “Short-term emergency funding is an insurance policy for independent journalism,” Kaja Kallas was quoted as saying by the Associated Press, svoboda.org reported. According to Czech television channel ČT24, the funds will be channeled through the non-governmental organization European Endowment for Democracy. The Czech government is leading an EU effort to find funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which is headquartered in Prague. According to Kallas, the EU will not be able to fill the funding gap for the organization globally, but it can help the broadcaster “to work and function in those countries in the neighborhood that are very dependent on news coming from outside”. However, the European diplomat expressed hope that the 27 EU member states would provide RFE/RL with more funds in the long term. Kallas noted that the EU is exploring “strategic directions” in which the European bloc could also provide assistance as the United States cuts foreign aid. RFE/RL Media Corporation is now continuing to sue the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) for access to the organization’s funding, which was previously allocated by the US Congress.