European Media Freedom Under Attack How Can We Resist the Foreign Agent Laws

About this episode

The episode discusses the rise of foreign agent laws in Europe and the implications for media freedom and independent journalism.

A troubling trend is taking root across Europe. Inspired by a 2012 Russian law, several authoritarian regimes are now experimenting with so-called "foreign agent laws." In Russia, this legislation has severely weakened political opposition, civil society, and independent media. It asks organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register with the authorities as “foreign agents.” In his report Foreign Agent Laws: A Worrying Trend, Christian Holland notes that “The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that the archetypal foreign agent law violates fundamental rights and exhibits the “hallmarks of totalitarianism”, imposing punitive sanctions on NGOs and curtailing journalists’ ability to participate in public life.” In Georgia, a similar law was introduced in 2023 but was withdrawn after significant public and media resistance—only to be passed by the pro-Russian government in May 2024. Other countries are following. In May 2025, an EU member—Viktor Orbán’s Hungary—considered adopting such a law. Though it has been postponed, the threat still looms over the survival of Hungarian independent media. So, how can we resist the interference of…

People in this episode

Guest: Gábor

Topics covered

• media freedom
• foreign agent laws
• authoritarian regimes
• independent journalism
• European solidarity
• civil society

Keywords

• foreign agent laws
• media freedom
• authoritarianism
• civil society
• European Court of Human Rights
• independent media
• public resistance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: European Court of Human Rights, Christian Holland

Places: Russia, Georgia, Hungary