In Strasbourg, during the ongoing plenary session of the European Parliament, a discussion took place on ensuring access to democratic media outlets, such as Radio Free Europe / Radio Svoboda. PiS MEP Małgorzata Gosiewska spoke on behalf of the ECR Group during the discussion.
The PiS MEP emphasized that a free media is the foundation of democracy and civil liberties. “European politicians discuss the need to support such media, as in the case of Radio Free Europe, but their actions do not reflect this,” – Gosiewska stated, citing the example of the until recently independent television station Belsat, a media outlet providing reliable information to Belarusians, as well as Ukrainians and Russians. “Today, it is merely an editorial unit within the structure of Polish public television, which was illegally taken over by Donald Tusk’s government,” she said. She also noted that funding for the Belarusian section of Radio Wnet, as well as the Belarusian websites Karta’97, Nexta, Radio Racja, and Radio Svoboda, has been drastically cut. “These media outlets are a window to the free world for Belarusians,” emphasized the chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Belarus. Gosiewska stated that the EU taking on the financial burden is merely a matter of swift and decisive decisions. “Are you criticizing the Americans for cutting funding to the media? Yet this is first and foremost a task for Europe,” the Polish politician argued, pointing out that it is precisely for fighting for membership in the European community that Belarusians face persecution, torture, or imprisonment. “It’s time to finally take responsibility for this,” she urged.
