European Commission to allocate 3 mln euros to support journalists who left Russia, Belarus

BRUSSELS. Feb 3 (Interfax) - The European Commission (EC) said that it intends to allocate around three million euros to support journalists from Russia and Belarus who left to work in the EU countries and will organize a call for proposals for relevant projects.

The main objective of this call for proposals is to support the establishment of "a pan-European platform or network of media hubs that promote a pluralistic media environment," a statement published by the EC on Monday said.

"The focus is on ensuring that exiled independent journalists and media can continue producing content and distributing it to their audiences without editorial interference," the statement said.

In total, 1,500 independent journalists and a number of editorial newsrooms from Russia and Belarus were estimated to have fled or relocated to the EU in 2024 alone, it said.

It is also reported that this is the second call for proposals after a similar one, which was held in 2023.