The description of the competition states that the EU4FreeMedia Facility offers such professionals a one-month internship "to get acquainted with the work of the authoritative media of the European Union, improve their skills in preparing news materials, expand knowledge about the European Union and create a network of fellow journalists in the field of international relations."
The program is organized by the project "Public Diplomacy. The EU and Russia" and funded by the EU Foreign Policy Instruments Service. In the first set of the program, several internship places are offered: Reuters (Brussels), EUobserver (Brussels), Gazeta Wyborcza (Warsaw), etc. The internship includes a scholarship that covers the cost of air tickets, rental housing and accommodation.
Alexei Mukhin, general director of the Center for Political Information, believes that the West is only situationally helping Russian liberal journalists.
"As soon as they cease to be functional, the West will definitely throw them - this is the working model. At the same time, it can be stated that people who are financial hubs, like the same Akunin, Guriev, and Khodorkovsky **, become elements of the propaganda machine directed against Russia. But, as soon as they cease to be useful, they will also be thrown away as unnecessary parts, "the political scientist said.
Earlier, the State Department announced its intention to finance a program to "counter Russian disinformation" in a number of countries in Europe and Asia.
* Included in the register of foreign agents by decision of the Ministry of Justice of Russia dated 10.03.2023.
** Included in the register of foreign agents by decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation dated 06.05.2022.