Radio Free Europe’s Hungarian service, Szabad Európa, ceased operations on Friday following a decision by the Trump administration to withdraw funding for the pro-democracy news outlet.
In a statement, Szabad Európa said it had “worked with dedication to provide the best of journalism and objective information to Hungarian readers,” adding that its articles would remain available online.
Originally launched in 1993, the Hungarian service was discontinued but reintroduced in 2020 after the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and Congress approved its relaunch to counter Hungary’s declining media freedom under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The closure comes amid major funding cuts to international broadcasters like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America, as well as US domestic public broadcasters PBS and NPR.
Kari Lake, senior adviser to USAGM, informed Congress that Szabad Európa’s operations in Hungary were “not aligned with US national interests” and “undermined” the Trump administration’s foreign policy. She added on X (formerly Twitter) that taxpayer funds should not be used to “destabilise the Hungarian regime.”
Since returning to power in 2010, Orbán, a Trump ally, has built a pro-government media empire in Hungary, using oligarch-backed buyouts to control around 80% of the country’s media resources, according to Reporters Without Borders. In 2021, Orbán became the first EU leader listed as a media “predator.”
Earlier this year, legislation was introduced to blacklist and fine media outlets receiving foreign funding, further tightening control over independent journalism.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, funded by the US government, was originally established during the Cold War to provide news behind the Iron Curtain. Its programming currently spans 27 languages across 23 countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
