The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation has issued a statement [3 February 2022] announcing that it is closing the operations of Germany's international broadcaster DW in the country.
The statement reads:
As part of the response measures announced on February 2 in response to the unfriendly actions of the Federal Republic of Germany to ban satellite and other broadcasting of the German-language television channel RT DE, the Russian side intends to implement the first stage of response measures:
- closure of the correspondent office of the German television and radio company Deutsche Welle in the Russian Federation;
- cancellation of accreditation of all employees of the Russian Bureau of Deutsche Welle;
- termination of satellite and other broadcasting of the Deutsche Welle television and radio company on the territory of the Russian Federation;
- initiation by the competent authorities of the Russian Federation of the procedure for considering the issue of recognising Deutsche Welle as a foreign mass media outlet acting as a foreign agent;
- launching the process of forming a list of representatives of state and public structures of Germany involved in restricting the broadcasting of RT DE and otherwise putting pressure on the
Russian media operator, who will be banned from entering the territory of the Russian Federation. The list is not expected to be published.
Information on the next steps in the response will be published in a timely manner.
The Russian move comes the day after the German Commission on Licensing and Supervision (ZAK) decreed that RT must cease broadcasting German-language programmes saying it "does not have the necessary broadcasting licence". RT DE acquired a licence from the Serbian media regulator on 17 December 2021. Both Germany and Serbia are signatories to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television. Licences granted by one ECTT member state provide the legal grounds for transmission and reception of a licensed service in another ECTT-ratified state. (AIB media industry briefing | February 2022)
