STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden will donate 20 million crowns ($2.1 million) to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Nordic country said on Thursday, after the administration of President Donald Trump ordered a freeze of federal grants to the media outlet.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was set up during the Cold War to reach people in communist-run states. The Prague-based outlet broadcasts to countries in Eastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine.
“This decision is part of our continued work to support journalists and independent media,” the Swedish government said in a statement.
“After the U.S. withdrew its support for Radio Free Europe, people in many countries risk losing access to free media,” it said.
President Trump in March ordered the termination of the grants as part of sweeping efforts to downsize the U.S. government, in what may devastate a rare source of reliable news in authoritarian countries.
A U.S. District Court judge placed a temporary pause on the termination order but a federal appeals court this month blocked the ruling.
($1 = 9.6833 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik and Bernadette Baum)
