RSF - Reporters sans frontières

05/12/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/12/2026 10:58

European media funding: AgoraEU programme’s new focus on journalism is welcome news, ambitious financial support must now follow

The Council of Culture Ministers of the European Union (EU) has endorsed the plan to support the news and journalism sector within the future AgoraEU programme, which will define funding priorities for media, culture and fundamental rights for the 2028-2034 period. This is a welcome first step, fully aligned with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which recently entered into force. Now, the challenge will be to allocate substantial financial resources to supporting reliable news media as disinformation grows across EU countries.

On 12 May, the EU Council of Culture Ministers adopted its position on the AgoraEU programme, largely endorsing the European Commission's initial proposal.

The adopted text includes a specific objective to support the news sector within the programme's "Media+" strand, which will serve as the cornerstone of EU media support policy for the 2028-2034 period. The text also strengthens the programme's focus on public interest media as well as regional and local media - a positive development as these actors play a crucial role in maintaining high-quality local news, which fosters social cohesion.

The text also mentions protecting the press and promoting journalistic standards. It states that "support to news media should contribute to the promotion and protection of regulatory and recognised self-regulatory standards, thus advancing the role of professional journalism and trustworthy and reliable news content." The Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI), a certification programme for ethical editorial practices developed by RSF, is one example of this kind of standard.

One key issue nevertheless remains unresolved: the financial resources that will be allocated to supporting media and journalism. The European Commission has proposed a 3.2 billion EUR budget over seven years for the "Media+" strand, which covers audiovisual sectors (including cinema) and news media, without specifying how funding would be distributed between the strand's different sectors.

The European Parliament is now expected to adopt its own position in the autumn, before the start of interinstitutional negotiations to reach a final agreement.

"By producing reliable news in the public interest, media outlets act as an antidote to propaganda. As disinformation grows - amplified by major online platforms, which also hog advertising revenue - the creation of a dedicated "news" objective within the future AgoraEU funding programme is a positive development. RSF welcomes the programme's emphasis on 'citizens' access to trustworthy and reliable information' as one of its overarching objectives. The priority now is to allocate funding capable of concretely supporting a diverse, independent and trustworthy media landscape. RSF calls on European institutions to be bold in addressing this democratic emergency and help preserve our information space - one of the most dynamic in the world according to the 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index."

Julie Majerczak
RSF Permanent Representative to the European Union
Published on 12.05.2026
RSF - Reporters sans frontières published this content on May 12, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 12, 2026 at 16:58 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]