Foreign ministers from European Union countries are discussing the suspension of the US Congressionally-passed grant to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty at a meeting in Brussels today, IPN reports.

"Radio Free Europe is one of the few credible sources in dictatorships such as Iran, Belarus or Afghanistan," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said in a social media post .

According to svoboda.org, officials of the Czech Republic have circulated to officials of EU member states the draft declaration, which reflects concerns about the funding of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The document emphasizes that the institution "has for decades provided objective information to people behind the Iron Curtain and continues to provide reliable and independent news to tens of millions of people in regions where the free press does not exist or is limited". At the same time, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, through its work, strengthens European security, and a further cessation of its activity would be "a gift" to Europe's rivals, the source notes.

The draft expresses the intention to find funds to allow Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to continue its work. But it is not clear how many EU countries might join the declaration.

Several American and international media organizations, including the National Press Club, Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, have come to the defense of RFE/RL and the Voice of America, Novaya Gazeta Europe.

"Today it (editor's note: RFE/RL) is the main source of uncensored information about events in the Russian regions, which is important both for the residents of Russia and for the rest of the democratic world, which is striving for a speedy end to the war," Novaya Gazeta Europe wrote.

"The closure of 'Radio Liberty' and 'Voice of America', including all projects related to them, is a serious blow to civil society in Russia and Belarus," the editor-in-chief of the TV station "Rain", Tikhon Dzyadko, wrote in a message on social networks.

"Iranian ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk will mark the demise of RFE/RL on the eve of its 75th anniversary. The victory of our adversaries will make them stronger, and America - weaker," said Radio Free Europe President Stephen Capus.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday, March 14, signed the executive order cutting seven federal agencies, including the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty and other media organizations.

Within hours of the decree's release, a USAGM letter appeared in the press, saying the US Congressionally approved grant that funds RFE/RL had been terminated. The Voice of America also halted its operations, with most employees sent on administrative leave.

Photo source: www.svoboda.org