Russian Federation

Four additional Russian media outlets added to the list of banned media in the EU

IRIS 2023-1:1/3

Justine Radel-Cormann

European Audiovisual Observatory

On 16 December 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted a Decision (CFSP) 2022/2478 banning four further media outlets to the list of Russian broadcasters prohibited in the EU, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (see IRIS 2022-3/6). 

The Council Decision amended Annex IX of previous Council Decision 2014/512/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine. The new broadcasters are the following: NTV/NTV Mir, Rossiya 1, REN TV and Pervyi Kanal. The list now contains more than a dozen banned media outlets (such as RT English, RT UK, Sputnik, Rossiya 24, TV Centre International) (see IRIS 2022-7:1/2 and 2022-7:1/7). 

They can no longer broadcast content to the European Union nor execute broadcasting licence or authorisation, transmission and distribution arrangements they may have had within the territory of the European Union.

This new measure belongs to the EU’s ninth package of initiatives aiming at diminishing Russia’s war effort, which also includes actions related to banking and energy sectors. 

The 2022/2478 Decision did not need the approval of other EU institutions and entered into force on 17 December 2022.


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This article has been published in IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory.