A funding freeze ordered by US President Donald Trump has left several US-funded foreign media outlets, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, scrambling for survival. The EU has warned that the cuts could benefit authoritarian regimes, while Czech officials push for European support to keep the radio station on air.
The European Union wants to better protect journalists and media companies from political influence and has agreed on the so-called European Media Freedom Act. While the safeguards offered by the law have been mostly welcomed, it does not come without flaws – and issues across the European media landscape remain.
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has said that the decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine was being overrated. The Dutch government has decided to lift its veto on Bulgaria joining the Schengen area. The EU is supporting an Albanian awareness campaign aimed at informing travellers about the rules for transporting money in and out of the country.