RSF calls for the postponement of Radio Liechtenstein’s privatisation and demands guarantees for its editorial independence
Liechtenstein is preparing to privatise its only public broadcaster, Radio Liechtenstein, following a public vote to scrap its funding. As public broadcasting across Europe faces similar threats, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Liechtenstein Parliament to outline a roadmap to ensure the station maintains its editorial independence, internal pluralism, and ability to produce news content.
On 4 December, the parliament of Liechtenstein — the German-speaking principality with a population of 38,000 — will start discussing the future of the country's only public media outlet, Radio Liechtenstein, in its final session before the parliamentary elections in February 2025. A public vote held on 27 October ended in a decision to repeal the law governing public service broadcasting. This referendum was initiated by the opposition party Democrats for Liechtenstein (DpL), which criticised the radio service’s growing costs paid for by state finances, as they believed these expenses were disproportionate to the radio’s programming quality and the low subsidies given to private media. Liechtenstein’s parliament, known as Landtag, will now choose how to implement the vote, setting the public service’s effective end date – scheduled for late 2025 but subject to change by law – as well as the potential privatisation process, which may be the only means for the station to survive.
Under the current media support law — which is also due to be reformed in a parliamentary vote in early December — Radio Liechtenstein is entitled to approximately 800,000 Swiss francs (858,000 euros) after privatisation, instead of the 4 million Swiss francs (4.3 million euros) it currently receives as a public entity. This drastic reduction in its budget, coupled with the short timeline for implementing the referendum result, threatens the station’s existence, even as it begins taking steps to improve efficiency.
“We respect the will of the Liechtenstein people as expressed in the referendum. However, its result threatens a vital pillar of democracy: the independence and pluralism of journalism. Radio Liechtenstein is facing the nightmare haunting European public broadcasting: dissolution or privatisation. We call on the Landtag to act responsibly: delay the privatisation until at least the end of 2026 to give the radio station time to prepare for the transition, and impose guarantees on its future investor so the station maintains its editorial independence, internal pluralism, and ability to produce news content.
By respecting these conditions – which RSF advocated for in a meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Economy and Environment, the body in charge of media policy, on 28 November – the Landtag’s measures would align with the provisions on public and private media outlined in the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), a law Liechtenstein is about to apply nationally. While not a member of the European Union (EU), Liechtenstein is part of the European Economic Area — an economic alliance of countries integrated into the EU's internal market — which is subject to the EMFA.
Liechtenstein's media pluralism had already been undermined when one of the country's two daily newspapers, Liechtensteiner Volksblatt, closed due to financial issues in March 2023. Now, the country’s citizens only have access to one national daily newspaper, Vaterland, and one national television channel, 1FLTV, a private company.
Across Europe, far-right parties such as the National Rally in France are advocating for the privatisation of public broadcasting, threatening citizens' access to reliable, independent, and pluralistic information.
Liechtenstein ranks 15th out of 180 countries and territories in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index.
Aller plus loin
