The Federation of Screenwriters in Europe released a 61-page report called Right to Write that raises the alarm: far-right political moves against public broadcasters are putting artistic freedom and free speech at risk across the continent.

What the report found

The Federation represents 31 screenwriters guilds and unions from 25 countries. Their report lays out what they call a clear playbook used by right-wing parties to reshape public media. The tactics include:

  • delegitimizing journalism
  • intimidating critics
  • concentrating media influence
  • using regulators as political tools
  • politicizing cultural institutions
  • defunding or seizing control of public broadcasters

Where this is happening

The report highlights steps taken by governments in several countries, including Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Slovakia. Examples include cutting funding, threatening or revoking broadcast licenses, and placing loyalists into leadership roles at public broadcasters.

Why screenwriters worry

Carolin Otto, a former Federation president, writes in the report that most far-right and populist parties share a goal: weaken or shut down public service broadcasting, or bring it under their control. She warns that many of these parties promote a simplified, nationalistic version of the past and will censor stories that do not fit that vision.

That pressure is already changing behavior. The report says systems are being put in place that limit topics writers can tackle when they seek public funding, which leads to widespread self-censorship.

Voices from the industry

Helen Perquy of the Belgian production company Jonnydepony, which made the sci-fi show Arcadia, says European broadcasters are getting more cautious. She notes a clear pullback from commissioning diverse or challenging stories and says this change is visible in the kinds of projects that get support.

Numbers that show the risk

Public broadcasters are the main source of funding for TV fiction in Europe. In 2023 they accounted for 55 percent of fiction series commissions, while commercial broadcasters made up 31 percent and global streamers 14 percent. That same year public broadcasters spent about €7.2 billion on original European content, not counting news and sports rights.

For films, state subsidies and tax incentives matter a lot. The Federation estimates direct public funding covered about 27 percent of production costs for theatrical live-action features in 2022, with another 20 percent coming from tax and other incentives.

What is at stake

The Federation says attacks on public broadcasters weaken a central pillar of how European audiovisual work is commissioned and funded. Public media need to be able to report and show work that criticizes government or tackles difficult parts of modern life without political interference.

Examples from this years festival line-up

Programs at a recent European festival included shows that would likely be vulnerable under tightened political control. Among them were a Belgian series imagining a future under a far-right, anti-migrant government called The Best Immigrant, a Swedish legal drama about money and justice called The Burden of Justice, and a Spanish period drama that looks at an attempted 1981 coup titled Anatomy of a Moment.

The festival runs through March 27, 2026.

The Federations report is a clear call: if public broadcasters are weakened or politicized, many kinds of stories will struggle to find funding and audiences. That is a loss not only for creators but for anyone who wants media that reflects a wide range of voices and realities.