# EU Commissioner Vows Media Protection as Czech Bill Sparks EU Concern

> EU commissioner pledges all tools to shield media freedom as Czech public broadcasting bill alarms MEPs.
- Title: EU Commissioner Vows Media Protection as Czech Bill Sparks EU…
- Summary: EU commissioner pledges all tools to shield media freedom as Czech public broadcasting bill alarms MEPs.
- Keywords: eu commissioner, czech republic, public broadcasting, media freedom, parliament, babis bill, czech prime minister, EUobserver
- Source: EUobserver — https://euobserver.com/248607/eu-commissioner-vows-to-use-all-relevant-tools-to-protect-media-freedom-as-babis-public-broadcasting-bill-alarms-meps
- Published: 2026-11-12T15:50:11+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: eu commissioner, czech republic, public broadcasting, media freedom, parliament, babis bill, czech prime minister, politics, world
## Czech Bill Sparks EU Protests
Political groups in the European Parliament spoke out against a controversial change in public media funding pushed by Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš.
## EU Commissioner Vows Tools for Media Freedom
EU democracy commissioner Michael McGrath told MEPs on Wednesday (11 November) he would use 'all relevant tools' to protect media freedom.
## Czech Public Broadcasting Bill
The Czech Chamber of Deputies voted to scrap radio and TV licence fees in favour of state budget funding for public broadcasters.
## Historic 24-Hour Strike
Public broadcasting staff walked off the air in a historic 24-hour strike after the fast-tracked vote on the bill at 4.36 am on 24 October.
## Key takeaway

EU democracy commissioner Michael McGrath vowed to use all relevant tools to protect media freedom after Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš’ public broadcasting bill sparked EU Parliament protests.