Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has been granted a stay of execution after the European Union agreed to provide emergency fundings to keep the station on the air.
The organisation’s financial crisis began when Trump administration announced it was stopping grants to the pro-democracy broadcaster after having accused it of presenting a liberal bias.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said foreign ministers had agreed to a €5.5 million contract to “support the vital work of Radio Free Europe.”
The former Estonian prime minister said the EU would not be able to fund RFE’s operation globally but would be able to support the “work and function in those countries that are in our neighbourhood and that are very much dependent on news coming from outside.”
This includes RFE’s regional base in the Czech Republic.
Ms Kallas said the short-term emergency funding would provide a safety net for independent journalism.
In March, US District Judge Royce Lamberth granted a temporary restraining order to the broadcaster, after concluding that the Trump administration’s efforts to shut it down would cause irreparable harm.
