TVP World instead of Radio Free Europe? The broadcaster wants to replace US-backed media

The Polish station TVP World, the German Deutsche Welle (DW) and the French holding France Médias Monde (FMM) offered on Monday to the European Commission to replace independent media outlets that the United States has refused to finance, such as Radio Free Europe.

In a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the head of EU diplomacy, Kaia Kallas, and presented on Monday at the meeting of ministers for European affairs, the broadcasters announced their readiness to strengthen their services and expand their presence in “regions where independent journalism is most at risk”, and from which, as a result of the cuts in funds by the US under Donald Trump, previously independent broadcasters, such as Radio Free Europe, had to withdraw.

EU broadcasters emphasized that such a solution would allow the EU to fight growing disinformation more effectively, prevent an information vacuum in some regions, and would also give the EU a unique opportunity to strengthen its “strategic media presence through trusted European actors.”

DW and FMM emphasized that together they reach almost 600 million viewers a weekbroadcasting in almost 40 languages. TVP World, in turn, assured that it had 200 million viewers in Ukraine, Belarus and throughout Eastern Europe.

“Europe is in a strong position to fill the gap left by the weakening of international broadcasters financed by the United States,” the station's executives wrote in the letter.

Broadcasters noted that a reversal of U.S. policy on funding independent media is unlikely. They recalled that the Commission had adopted initiatives aimed at defending the media, including: The European Democracy Shield, the creation of which was announced by the head of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, at the beginning of her mandate and whose task is, among others, the fight against disinformation, or the AgoraEU program, which secured funds for the defense of democracy and the media under the new budget perspective.

The signatories of the letter also emphasized that, in their opinion, financing from EU funds for European media in the EU's neighboring countries, especially in the candidate countries, should be treated as a priority.

From Brussels Jowita Kiwnik-Pargana (PAP)

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