EU commissioner vows to use ‘all relevant tools’ to protect media freedom as Babiš public broadcasting bill alarms MEPs

Political groups in the European Parliament spoke out against a controversial change in public media funding pushed by Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš, while far-right parties backed Prague’s steps. EU democracy commissioner Michael McGrath told MEPs on Wednesday (11 November) he would use “all relevant tools” to protect media freedom, but refused to confirm if the draft bill adopted by the Czech parliament conflicts with European law. This comes after last month the Czech Chamber of Deputies (parliament’s lower house) voted to scrap radio and TV licence fees in favour of funding public broadcasters from the state budget. Protests erupted across the country to oppose the bill and support media independence. The fast-tracked vote on the bill at 4.36 am on 24 October (a Saturday) was seen as undemocratic, and public broadcasting staff walked off the air in a historic 24-hour strike. On Thursday (12 November), members of the Czech community living in Brussels also gathered in front of the European Parliament to show their discontent with developments back home. Czech TV, which, alongside Czech Radio, is at risk of funding losses and political control, interviewed young professionals there. Protesters adopted a paper hat in the style of Czech TV icon Večerníček (Source: Tomáš Polák) Inside the European Parliament in Brussels, MEPs raised concerns over the Czech government's move, warning that it could threaten the independence of public service media and expose broadcasters to political interference. “The Czech government’s plan to abolish the public broadcasting licence fee is a clear attempt by Babiš to undermine the independence of public broadcasters and subject them to political control,” said French MEP Laurence Farreng of the liberal Renew Europe. Czech Republic’s ruling party ANO used to be a member of Renew before it moved to the far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE) group. Defending his national party leader, Czech PfE MEP Ondřej Knotek defended the controversial bill. “If a democratic national election delivers a government in opposition of the European Parliament mainstream, very soon you guys come with plenary debates and resolutions questioning the rule of law with unnecessary escalation,” he said. The lawmaker said that other EU member states like Finland rely on government funding for public media, and that the bill does not violate European law.