According to the Twitter account @RFERLPress, the company president Steve Capus announced the shutdown of the Bulgarian and Romanian services of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The Bulgarian and Romanian services of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) will suspend operations until March 31, 2026. The information was confirmed by the company’s president, Steve Capus. According to him, the decision was not taken lightly and was largely related to protracted budget difficulties.
“We are proud of the steadfast, balanced journalism that Svobodna Evropa and Europa Liberă România have been producing since their return to Bulgaria and Romania in 2019, and we are grateful to these teams for their dedication to their audience – and to Radio Free Europe – over the past seven years,”
– Steve Capus
Historically, RFE/RL revived its editorial office in Romania in January 2019. This decision followed assessments by independent observers, including Reporters Without Borders, which for several years noted a decline in freedom of expression in Romania.
In June 2019, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty announced the opening of a new bureau and the revival of the Bulgarian service in Sofia. RFE/RL operated in Bulgaria before and after the Cold War; in 2004 operations were terminated. The then-vice president of the media corporation, Nenad Peić, stressed that the fall of the communist regime was seen as a victory for Western values.
“As we see today, in many countries this is not the case. It takes a long time for media freedom to take root.”
– Nenad Peić
In November 2025, the Hungarian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty ceased operations – five years after its relaunch aimed at providing independent and accurate news to the people of Hungary.
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