The publication Europa Liberă, funded by the United States Congress, closes in Romania after six years of activity. The publication officially closes on March 31.
Europa Liberă, the successor of the Radio Europa Liberă service, a radio station received in Romania during the communist period and until 2008, will close on March 31.
The current editorial office in Romania has around 20 employees.
Europa Liberă was launched with Sabina Fati, former journalist from free Romania, at the helm.
After less than two years, the post of director of the publication was taken over by the journalist Elena Vijulie Tănase, who is also leading the editorial office at this moment.
“Today, RFE/RL management announced internally the closure of the Free Europe Romanian Service starting March 31, 2026. Also the Bulgarian Service, on the same date. Free Europe Hungary closed in November 2025. Bad news for sure. And not only for me and my colleagues. We are a handful of professional journalists, and the times call for our work on so many fronts. All it will be fine. Freedom has no guarantee period“, wrote Elena Vijulie Tănase on her Facebook page.
Oana Despa, one of the journalists of the publication, states that it was, perhaps, the “coolest” place in which she wrote.
“Hm, maybe the coolest?! Cool means a place where you don’t negotiate topics or do ballet dancing to publish. A place where you feel free. You with your topics. Because, on my trip to Free Europe, I wrote about things that I would never have dreamed of. I’m going to collect them these days in a place so we won’t forget them. Obviously I didn’t write perfectly and everything could be improved, but I WRITTEN. Because I believed and still believe that we live in times when our fragile democracy is more important than any personal interest. And democracy needs journalists, not influencers. As many as possible in as many places“, wrote Oana Despa.
Over time, the publication gave numerous revelations.
