Bangladesh, May 22 -- In a move that underscores Europes growing role in safeguarding Western media influence abroad, the European Union has stepped in to provide emergency funding of €5.5 million to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the Cold War-era broadcaster once bankrolled by the CIA. The decision comes in the wake of a sweeping budgetary rollback by the Trump administration, which deemed the outlet obsolete and strategically misaligned with current US interests.

The bailout, announced by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on May 21, was framed as a “short-term emergency” measure intended to preserve what Brussels describes as “independent journalism” in regions where press freedom remains frag...