The EU Council has extended the suspension of broadcasting licences to five more Russian media outlets.
As part of its 11th package of economic and individual sanctions, it has added the sites RT Balkan, Oriental Review, Tsargrad, New Eastern Outlook and Katehon to the list of services no longer allowed to be distributed in the EU.
According to the Council, “these outlets are under the permanent direct or indirect control of the leadership of the Russian Federation and have been used by latter for its continuous and concerted propaganda actions targeted at the civil society in the EU and neighbouring countries, gravely distorting and manipulating facts.
“In particular, the propaganda has repeatedly and consistently targeted European political parties, especially during election periods, as well as civil society, asylum seekers, Russian ethnic minorities, gender minorities, and the functioning of democratic institutions in the EU and its member states.
“In line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights, these measures will not prevent those media outlets and their staff from carrying out activities in the EU other than broadcasting, e.g., research and interviews”.
