The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its German affiliates, dju in ver.di and DJV, in condemning the drastic reduction in programmes and staff at the international public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW). These cost-cutting measures jeopardise access to free and pluralistic information for millions of citizens around the world. The reduction in DW’s broadcasting comes at a time when the United States has itself withdrawn its international broadcasting.
Following the German federal government’s decision to cut DW’s funding by 10 million euros in 2026, the management of the international public broadcaster adopted on Wednesday a drastic cost-cutting plan of 21 million euros. Concrete consequences: DW’s Greek-language service will be discontinued, after 62 years on the air, and programmes in Spanish, Portuguese and other languages for Latin America, Africa and Afghanistan will be reduced. The plan also provides for the elimination of 163 time-equivalents, a measure that will mainly affect freelancers.
This major restructuring comes two years after a previous wave, which had already cut costs by around 20 million euros.
“The quality and diversity of programming is being severely compromised (…). Faced with the rise of authoritarian forces and regimes worldwide, the German government is sending out the wrong signal”, said ver.di board member Christoph Schmitz-Dethlefsen.
DJV President Mika Beuster reacted with incomprehension to the persistent silence of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture Wolfram Weimer, former editor-in-chief of “Die Welt”, regarding the drastic budget cuts at DW: “Weimer often insists on the importance of critical journalism, especially in autocratic regimes. Yet when it comes to budgetary policy, he remains silent instead of defending the DW.”
“Western governments are clearly not taking seriously the need to protect media pluralism and the right of citizens to have access to free and independent information,” said EFJ President Maja Sever. “In a context of global tension and increasing authoritarianism, media pluralism must be invested in rather than sacrificed. These decisions are politically irresponsible”.
Source: EFJ
