The EBU issued a letter to the Polish government urging it to ensure adequate and sustainable funding for Poland’s public service media (PSM), following reports of a proposed 2.5 billion PLN of public funding for PSM from the state budget per year within the reform of media law, more than 30% below the level proposed previously in 2024. While we welcome the Polish government’s renewed commitment to media independence and reforms aligned with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), but we are concerned that insufficient funding risks undermining these positive steps.

“We strongly support the Polish government’s steps to strengthen media independence and implement the EMFA,” said Richard Burnley, EBU Director of Legal and Policy. “In fact, Poland should be applauded as being one of the very first EU Member States to initiate the process. But independence without adequate funding risks being independence in name only. Public service media must have the resources to serve all citizens, reflect Poland’s cultural and regional diversity, and help safeguard democracy at a time of unprecedented challenges in Europe.”

The EBU’s analysis shows that the proposed level of funding, representing approximately 0.06% of GDP, would place Poland 26th out of 30 European countries in terms of public media investment, below nearly all Central and Eastern European nations and far from the European average of 0.12%.

Poland’s extensive PSM system, which includes national and international TV and radio services as well as regional outlets, once served as a model for the region. However, independence cannot thrive without sustainable and predictable investment. Polish PSM is in a critical state. In the immediate term, it needs an urgent and adequate funding from the state budget for the year 2026 in order to stabilize the company and to be able to continue functioning with predictable budget, as clearly required by EMFA.