The European Commission defends its long-standing financial backing of Euronews, insisting that editorial independence is a criteria of that support, as concerns mount over press freedom ahead of Hungary’s pivotal April 12 election.
The European Commission spent about €1.34 million in 2025 on digital subscriptions to five major news and information services, according to internal figures — but declined to disclose how the money was distributed, citing commercial confidentiality, even as it prepares to enforce sweeping new transparency rules on public-sector media spending.
An Italian journalist based in Brussels was barred for months from covering the Council of the European Union after Belgian security authorities denied him clearance over alleged “contacts with the extreme left,” a decision later overturned by an independent appeals body.