On Our Radar

Belgium and Ireland

16 October 2026

On Our Radar this week: the Flemish government refuses to row back on cuts to VRT as its staff strike, and the Irish government takes €20 million from the funding promised to RTÉ for 2027.

On Our Radar this week…

PMA is deeply disappointed that the Flemish government has ruled out renegotiating its new funding cuts to VRT, Flanders’ public broadcaster and a PMA member. The cuts, announced as part of the government’s budget package last month, will require VRT to save about €10 million more by 2029, on top of the €16.6 million in savings it was already required to make. Media Minister Cieltje Van Achter has since said the figures are fixed, as the Flemish government must balance its budget. In response, VRT staff went on strike on 12 October, impacting radio and television programming; the unions will decide on 9 November whether to take further action. VRT NWS also reported that its English-language news service, flandersnews, will close at the end of November after more than 21 years. VRT reaches more than 90 percent of people in Flanders every week, yet has lost 31.5 percent of its public funding since 2007. PMA repeats its calls on the Flemish government to reverse these cuts, and we urge the Flemish Parliament to hold the government to Belgium’s obligation under Article 5 of the European Media Freedom Act to guarantee adequate, sustainable, and predictable funding for public service media. Read more via VRT NWS.

Meanwhile, PMA is concerned by the €20 million cut to RTÉ’s expected funding for 2027. Budget 2027 will provide RTÉ with €240 million, the same as in 2026 but below the €260 million envisaged for 2027 under the €725 million three-year funding agreement. Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan cited his dissatisfaction with RTÉ’s slow pace on promised reform as well as budgetary constraints on his department. In response, RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst said that the public broadcaster only learned of the cut three hours before the Budget and had received no explanation until hearing O’Donovan’s public statement. The director general also rejected the claim that reform has been slow and said 90 percent of the reform agenda agreed with the government has been delivered. He further warned that the decision will affect RTÉ’s five-year strategy after it had already made commitments on regional investment and sport and drama commissioning based on the expected €260 million. While the government is indeed entitled to expect progress on reform, that expectation should be set out in the terms of the agreement, and a reduction in its final year undermines the predictability the agreement was meant to provide. PMA calls on the Irish government to honour the funding envisaged for 2027 and, as the Minister prepares a Cabinet memo on the television licence, to put RTÉ’s funding on a multi-annual footing that meets Article 5 of the EMFA. Read more via RTÉ.

PMA Advocacy Team