On Our Radar

Spain and Hungary

22 April 2026

On Our Radar this week: cautious optimism as Hungary’s incoming government pledges to overhaul state media after a landmark election, and a new parliamentary inquiry into RTVE that raises serious questions about political interference in Spain’s public broadcaster.

On Our Radar this week…

In Spain, the Senate has approved a parliamentary commission of inquiry into public broadcaster RTVE, covering its finances, management, and fulfilment of its public service obligations. Established by the opposition People’s Party (PP) and supported by the far-right Vox, the commission passed with 146 votes, with all other parties abstaining or declining to participate. The PP, which holds the largest number of seats in both chambers, has publicly characterised RTVE as political propaganda paid for by Spanish taxpayers. RTVE has rejected the initiative, warning that it “resembles an attempt to exert control over the corporation’s professionals and could have a chilling effect on the practice of journalism.” Critics have also noted that a joint Senate-Congressional oversight commission for RTVE already exists. PMA shares these concerns. Any politically driven inquiry would undermine the integrity of existing accountability mechanisms. It risks putting public media on trial, as was critiqued in France during a parliamentary commission of inquiry into public media which has just wrapped up. Parliamentary accountability mechanisms are legitimate in principle, but their legitimacy depends on purpose and proportionality, as well as fair and balanced scrutiny. The inclusion of public service obligations within the commission’s scope heightens this concern further, as assessing the fulfilment of those obligations should be a matter for independent editorial and regulatory judgement, not political determination. We call on all parties to uphold the principle that RTVE’s editorial policies cannot be subject to parliamentary review, and to honour their obligations under the European Media Freedom Act. We further urge the inquiry to be conducted fairly and open-mindedly, without the partisan politics that undermined the credibility of the French inquiry. Read more from PMA’s recent Briefing.

Hungary’s incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar has pledged a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s national broadcaster, following his Tisza party’s landmark election victory on 13 April, which ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule. In an announcement, Magyar said that one of his first acts in government will be to suspend news broadcasts from the broadcaster, with new media legislation and a new media authority among his reform priorities. PMA is cautiously optimistic. Under Orbán and the Fidesz party, the state media was treated as an instrument of political power, and the democratic mandate for change is clear. However, the scale of what is needed also carries risk. Reforms pursued quickly without due process, or without broad stakeholder input could replicate the very dynamics they seek to dismantle. We therefore call on the incoming government to pursue media reform transparently and with genuine consultation, including with media professionals, civil society, and the public. The European Media Freedom Act provides a credible and binding framework, and its safeguards on editorial independence, governance, and state advertising should inform the design of any new structures. Read more from Al Jazeera.

PMA Advocacy Team