The Hungarian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) announced Thursday that it is closing “since midnight”in accordance with the orders of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
Radio Free Europe closed again in Hungary PHOTO Shutterstock
The American administration announced on November 7 that it will close Szabad Europa, at the request of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is visiting his American counterpart, Donald Trump, AFP notes.
The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent government agency that oversees RFE/RL, VOA, and other US-funded media outlets, notified Congress on November 5, 2025 that it intended to shut down RFE/RL's Hungarian-language service. The closure takes effect on November 21, 2025.
“The goal is really to destabilize that country”USAGM chief Kari Lake said a day before the announcement.
Szabad Europa stated that it will retain its content “available online”.
Initially closed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the platform was reopened in 2020 when the US Congress approved its funding amid concerns about media freedom in Hungary.
Since Orban's return to power in 2010, numerous independent media outlets have gone out of business or been bought and turned into mouthpieces for his party, Fidesz.
Meanwhile, the state press was forced to follow the line imposed by the government.
