The bloc pledges emergency aid to the CIA-founded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which has seen its funding cut by the Trump administration
The EU is providing €5.5 million in emergency funds to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a broadcaster from the Cold War era that is often viewed as a Western propaganda tool, to support its operations.
RFE/RL was established in the 1950s and secretly funded by the CIA to spread pro-Western views into the Soviet bloc. More recently, it has been overseen by the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to significantly reduce the agency’s funding as part of a broad cost-cutting initiative.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the financial support on Tuesday, calling it “short-term emergency funding” to bolster a mission she described as “vital.” The €5.5 million package will serve as a “safety net” to help RFE/RL continue its work in countries of interest to Brussels, including Russia, Belarus, Iran, and several Central Asian nations.
The Trump administration presented the defunding as part of a wider effort to eliminate bureaucratic organizations that no longer align with US strategic goals. RFE/RL’s president, Stephen Capus, has challenged this rationale, stating that the funding cuts are a “massive gift to America’s enemies.”
Administration officials and critics have contended that RFE/RL and its sister organization, Voice of America (VOA), have become irrelevant and increasingly biased in their reporting. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has publicly advocated for both outlets to be “shut down,” stating on X: “Nobody listens to them anymore.”
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