EU Commission Spends €1.3mn on News Subscriptions

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,  even as it prepares to enforce new transparency rules on public-sector media spending.

Ed. Updated with information about Parliament’s Euractiv and Politico Pro subscriptions.

The Commission’s corporate subscriptions — available to staff across its Brussels headquarters, EU representations and delegations — include Agence Europe, Contexte, the Financial Times, Politico Pro and PressReader, a platform offering access to more than 7,000 newspapers and magazines worldwide.

Total spending reached €1,343,000 in 2024 and €1,339,000 in 2025.

The Commission declined to provide a breakdown of payments to individual outlets, citing commercial confidentiality.

The approach contrasts with the European Parliament, which has published detailed subscription data under the bloc’s new European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), even when contracts are awarded through exceptional negotiated procedures. Parliament’s most recent figures show a €734,859 subscription to Financial Times Premium Digital in 2024.

While such subscriptions are standard across EU institutions, the Commission’s limited disclosure raises broader questions about how rigorously EU bodies — and member states — will comply with EMFA requirements to award media-related contracts based on “transparent, objective, proportionate and non-discriminatory criteria.”

Under Article 25 of the EMFA, governments and EU institutions must publish annual data on media spending, including the identity of providers, ownership structures and amounts paid. It remains unclear whether the provision explicitly covers subscription services.

Eva Simon, a senior advocacy officer at the Civil Liberties Union for Europe, who was involved in advocacy around Article 25, said the spending “falls under Article 25 of EMFA as well as freedom of information rules,” adding that the matter could ultimately be brought before the European Ombudsman.

Another expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the draft’s structure — a broad article paired with transparency rules that apply only to state advertising — risks undermining the very principle it claims to advance. If transparency is promoted, it should also be practiced, the expert indicated.

Although modest relative to the Commission’s broader communications budget, the concentration of spending among a small group of outlets may attract scrutiny as regulators begin monitoring compliance. National media authorities will be required to publish annual assessments of whether public funds are allocated transparently and without discrimination.

Euronews Funding Adds Complexity

The disclosure comes as Euronews, the pan-European broadcaster, continues to receive substantial EU funding through competitive grants.

In 2025, the Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect) awarded more than €12 million to Euronews across three projects, including nearly €3 million to launch Hungarian- and Polish-language services.

The grants are legally distinct from subscription spending but underscore the breadth of financial ties between EU institutions and media organizations — a relationship the EMFA aims to make more transparent.

Transparency advocates argue that even indirect or project-based funding can influence media markets, particularly in smaller linguistic or national contexts.

A New Era of Disclosure

The new rules will require more granular reporting by EU institutions, potentially exposing the extent to which public funding supports parts of Europe’s news ecosystem.

As the EMFA enters into force, the Commission’s subscription and grant spending may serve as an early test of how rigorously the European Union enforces its own transparency standards.

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