EU to provide support for exiled Russian, Belarusian journalists

The European Union on Monday offered 3 million euros—the equivalent of $3.1 million—for proposals or program suggestions to support exiled Russian or Belarusian journalists. The EU estimates that in 2024 alone, 1,500 independent journalists or newsrooms had to flee Russia and Belarus. Many of them continued to operate in the EU, even though their target audiences remained in Russia and Belarus.

So what exactly is the EU trying to do? The EU hopes to create a program to allow independent journalists to continue to operate without editorial interference. Nongovernmental organizations, research centers, and other organizations have roughly six weeks to apply with ideas for creating such a program.

In 2023, the European Union issued a similar call for proposals for programs to support independent journalists. Later that year, the EU said that the Prague Civil Society Centre was heading up a media hub with roughly 2.2 million euros—equivalent to roughly $2.3 million—to distribute in grants to networks of exiled journalists in Eastern Europe. The hub also provided advice and tech support.

Dig deeper: Read Jenny Lind Schmitt’s report in the WORLD archives about Christian news outlets across Europe.