Czech foreign minister proposes that EU should fund Radio Free Europe

Following the Trump administration’s decision to defund Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Saturday, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has said he’ll propose that Europe step in to fund its continued operation, Deutsche Welle reported on Sunday.

Lipavský said that funding the Prague-based broadcaster would cost around €120 million annually and noted that it would “be in our best interests that totalitarianism does not flourish in our neighbourhood”.

Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan immediately voiced his support for the proposal, saying that the gutting of the influential broadcaster was yet another indication that the US would focus far more on domestic affairs than international ones during Trump’s second term.

“Let us in Europe take responsibility for the radio station that has spoken to us with a free voice for years, and fund a free Europe … with European money,” he wrote.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order requiring seven federal agencies to “reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law”. Among the seven was the US Agency for Global Media, which funds both the Voice of America (VOA) and RFE/RL. The White House accused VOA of spouting “radical propaganda” and publishing “anti-Trump content”.

VOA and RFE/RL staff were initially reported to have been put on paid leave, with RFE/RL confirming that the grants that were to fund its activities until the end of the year had been terminated.

However, Russian independent news outlet Agentstvo reported on Monday that at least two VOA employees had reported being dismissed, with journalist Ksenia Turkova telling the outlet: “I have been officially dismissed as of 31 March. We were placed on paid leave on Saturday morning and fired on Sunday.”