EU media funding: is Brussels paying for favourable coverage?

Millions of euros flow into EU media projects every year — but do they promote genuine journalism or are they deliberately spreading political messages?

Jul 15, 2025

Translation of an article by Franz Becchi that originally appeared in German in the Berliner Zeitung, based on my recent MCC Brussels report on EU funding to the media.

“Facts matter, the truth matters”, said Ursula von der Leyen in her speech to the EU Parliament at the beginning of last week, just before a vote of no confidence was held against her. She was willing to engage in debate — provided it was based on “facts” and “arguments”.

As expected, von der Leyen survived the vote of no confidence, despite serious allegations concerning a lack of transparency in the procurement of the Covid-19 vaccines and an authoritarian leadership style. The criticism, von der Leyen claimed, came from an “extremist playbook”. For many media outlets, the result was a victory for the EU Commission president: “Von der Leyen successfully defends against no-confidence vote and attacks right-wing extremists”, headlined Der Spiegel, while Deutsche Welle (DW) reported a failure by the right: “Right-wing extremists fail with no-confidence motion against von der Leyen”.

But behind this political showdown lies another, largely ignored question: how independent are the media when more and more of them are funded directly by governments or international institutions like the EU? Every year, the EU provides millions of euros for media projects — not only in its member states, but also in countries where euroscepticism is widespread, such as parts of Eastern Europe. But what impact does this financial support have on journalistic freedom and the objectivity of reporting?

EU spends €80 million annually on media funding

Independent Italian investigative journalist Thomas Fazi addressed this issue in a report published in early June. Fazi is a journalist, author and documentary filmmaker based primarily in Rome. He is known for his critical analyses of politics, economics and EU affairs. His books include The Battle for Europe (2014) and Reclaiming the State (2017, with William Mitchell). His most recent work is The Covid Consensus (with Toby Green). He writes for platforms such as UnHerd and Compact.

The report, published by MCC Brussels — a Hungarian right-conservative think tank — shows that the EU spends nearly €80 million annually on media projects both within and beyond its borders. Public broadcasters and news agencies are a particular focus, such as the Italian news agency Ansa, Germany’s Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) and Deutsche Welle. These and other news agencies and communications firms receive EU funding — but what exactly is it for?

The funding programs are often framed with slogans like “combating disinformation” or “supporting fact-based reporting”. Yet, as Fazi explains in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung, “clear strategic goals are also being pursued to influence public debate and promote the EU agenda”. Many of these projects explicitly support pro-European narratives, including the promotion of European integration.

In geopolitically sensitive topics like the Russia-Ukraine conflict, media outlets receiving such funding may be incentivised to echo official EU and NATO positions, Fazi warns. In the past year alone, the EU allocated around €10 million to Ukrainian media.

The European Commission is the main financier of these media initiatives. Through programs like IMREG (Information Measures for the EU Cohesion Policy), it has invested €40 million in media since 2021, often via public broadcasters and news agencies. Another key program, “Journalism Partnerships”, has provided nearly €50 million since 2021.

The European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), which supports networks to combat disinformation, has received at least €27 million over the past five years — a domain closely linked to the promotion of pro-EU narratives.

The EU Parliament, through its Directorate-General for Communication, has allocated nearly €30 million for media campaigns since 2020. This funding aimed, among other goals, to “increase outreach to target audiences” and “boost legitimacy for EP campaigns”, particularly ahead of European elections.

In the run-up to the 2024 elections, for instance, €8 million was provided to “inform citizens about the importance of the European elections and encourage them to vote”, as well as to “engage with new voters”. “Independent media are essential to European democracy, and the European Parliament supports them through transparent initiatives that protect editorial freedom”, said a Parliament spokesperson to the Berliner Zeitung. He also noted that some media reports had misrepresented the actual amounts spent by citing the maximum ceilings of framework agreements, thus exaggerating the EU’s financial role.

“What matters is that the money is being allocated”, says Fazi, who believes his estimates are conservative, as they only account for direct grants to media. Communications agencies that receive EU funds and then redistribute them to media outlets are not included in his calculations — a common practice, he adds.

How much EU money are media outlets getting?

So, how much funding have individual media outlets received? Euronews tops the list with €230 million in total support. By contrast, ZDF and Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) received significantly less — €500,000 and €600,000 respectively. The French-German broadcaster Arte received about €26 million. Major amounts also went to Deutsche Welle (€35 million) and dpa (€3.2 million).

News agencies, in particular, are involved in several media initiatives. In 2024, about €1.7 million was allocated under the “Multimedia Actions” program to establish the European Newsroom (ENR). Coordinated by dpa, this newsroom brings together news agencies from 24 countries to produce and disseminate content related to EU affairs. These agencies — including AFP (France), EFE (Spain), Ansa (Italy), Belga (Belgium), and others — jointly create and distribute news offering a pan-European perspective on EU issues.

The content is aimed at media outlets, citizens and institutions, and is disseminated through agency networks, the European Data News Hub, newsletters, social media and projects like ChatEurope. The aim is to foster understanding of EU decisions and combat “disinformation”.

What’s behind the European Newsroom?

Compared to dpa’s core service, which provides a broad spectrum of global news, the ENR focuses on specialised EU reporting. ENR content may be integrated into dpa’s base service but remains focused on EU topics. The base service is primarily funded through subscriptions, while ENR is specifically funded to support EU-related content and infrastructure, such as shared offices in Brussels.

“In the ongoing project, dpa organises central services and acts as a clearinghouse”, a dpa spokesperson told the Berliner Zeitung. The European Newsroom does not produce content on behalf of the European Commission nor coordinate its content with the Commission, he said. However, a look at the ENR website quickly reveals that critical perspectives on the EU are largely absent.

Interviews with EU officials paint a largely one-sided picture of the Union. For example, European Council President António Costa claims Albania could join the EU before 2030. EU Parliament Vice-President Katarina Barley (PES) warns of “far-right alliances” and “disinformation” that could threaten “democracy” — without critical voices challenging the EU’s stance.

The funding is tied to specific projects with explicit requirements, such as promoting particular EU policies like cohesion policy or “demystifying the EU”. One example is the Stars4Media initiative, which has received over €8 million since 2019. A flagship project within it, “LucidAREurope”, aims to “create a civic engagement tool to demystify and debunk the European Union and its institutions”. “These stipulations are essentially editorial directives that undermine journalistic integrity”, says Fazi.

The European Commission disputes that interpretation: “The requirement to raise awareness of the benefits of cohesion policy is not part of the call text nor the grant agreement”, said a Commission official. All funded media, the Commission claims, work in “complete editorial independence”, supported by a declaration of independence.

However, the project Strengthening Independent Media for a Strong Democratic Ukraine tells a different story. Between 2024 and 2026, the EU will allocate more than €3.4 million to this project. The Deutsche Welle Akademie and Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne are collaborating to “strengthen the democratic media ecosystem to support Ukraine’s EU integration”. The project documents explicitly state this as the “main objective”.

A particular focus is placed on reaching younger audiences, especially in Ukraine. “We want to create a space for children here in Ukraine, a place where they can find reliable news and distraction”, said Olga Avrakhova, a producer at Suspilne, in a DW Akademie feature.

“Children live in a storm of information, making it difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. They need a platform that speaks their language, gives them reliable information, and people they can trust”, Avrakhova added. Among other initiatives, cartoons described as “therapeutic fairy tales” are intended to help children better understand their new reality.

Is the EU losing legitimacy?

The Deutsche Welle Akademie has received around €35 million from the European Commission over the past decade to implement such projects. Since 2020 alone, more than €14 million in funding has been distributed. Despite these substantial sums, the academy’s media training programs are not freely accessible — a one-day training session for five participants costs around €790 per person.

“The EU is responding to its loss of legitimacy and public trust with an escalation of propaganda and repressive measures”, Fazi argues. In a previous report, he uncovered similar patterns in EU funding for NGOs. As for criticism of MCC Brussels — linked to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — as the outlet publishing his report, Fazi dismisses it with a wink: “Funny how no one critiques the actual content of my reports”.

His new report has not only been picked up by alternative media, but also by mainstream platforms in countries such as Italy and Denmark — often in a neutral tone. In early July, Euractiv published an opinion piece titled: “Defund the Media”. It stated: “The EU’s press subsidies… have contributed to making journalists dependent on the politicians who control their economic fate and skewing the market for everyone else”.

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Thomas Fazi

Website: thomasfazi.net

Twitter: @battleforeurope

Latest book: The Covid Consensus: The Global Assault on Democracy and the Poor—A Critique from the Left (co-authored with Toby Green)