The chief executive officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), Kari Lake, informed lawmakers in a letter that Washington will terminate the Hungarian-language service of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), known as Szabad Európa.
In the letter, Lake wrote that USAGM will no longer use American taxpayer dollars to produce or distribute content to audiences of NATO allies, and will instead dedicate resources to other purposes determined by the administration. The document also emphasises that
the Hungarian globalist radio was not in line with the national interests of the U.S.,
and
it undermined President Trump’s foreign policy by opposing the legitimately elected Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán.
She also highlighted Hungary’s role as a strong ally of the U.S., and the fact that Viktor Orbán—despite the false accusations—is the country’s legitimately elected prime minister.
The letter also notes that USAGM, the Voice of America, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and non-federal grantees that receive taxpayer funding “do not exist to serve the interests, policies, or agenda” of the European Union or any other foreign government, federation, or international body, but rather exist solely “to serve the American people.” According to Washington, ending the Hungarian service reflects that standard.
Earlier this year, Radio Free Europe underwent a wave of layoffs, and employees in Budapest said that at the time, they were preparing for the publication’s possible closure. In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to downsize seven agencies, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Radio Free Europe.
The globalist broadcasting service then sued the Trump administration, asking the president to revoke the executive order, but their initiative was unsuccessful.
Hungarian MEP András László (Fidesz, PfE), said on X:
The new Szabad Európa (Free Europe) was unworthy of the name and indeed working against American-Hungarian friendship. Let’s make American-Hungarian relations great again!
