The pan-European television news network Euronews has opened an office in Baku in an event hailed by the Azerbaijani government, despite other major international media including the BBC and Bloomberg being forced out of the country in recent months.
The opening ceremony on Monday evening was attended by Azerbaijani state media, diplomats, and other officials, including presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev.
The network’s expansion comes amidst continuing repression against independent media in Azerbaijan, with at least 25 journalists currently behind bars. Euronews has faced accusations its expansion is being funded by Azerbaijan to help enhance their reputation.
In a speech during the opening ceremony, Euronews Board Chair Pedro Vargas David insisted the network had been subjected to pressure for demonstrating a ‘balanced position’ towards Azerbaijan.
‘Protests were held at the door of our headquarters. Our journalists faced email attacks. Whenever our news identified the location as “Shusha, Azerbaijan”, we received countless emails. They asked why we described Shusha as a territory within Azerbaijan. We told them that international law recognises this territory as part of Azerbaijan’, David said, as reported by Azerbaijani state media outlet APA.
‘Even when an Azerbaijani passenger plane was shot down last December, Reuters promoted an interpretation of the incident that favoured Russia. We have never done that’, David continued.
He then went on to praise the security of Azerbaijan’s airspace during the 12-day Israel–Iran war in June, claiming it showed how Azerbaijan ‘is a solution that exists for us every day — for our energy, our supply, and our future’.
‘It is a secular country. It is a rapidly developing country. It has industry and important resources. It is full of self-confidence’, David said.
He concluded his speech by emphasising that the new Baku office represented a ‘significant milestone’, one that reinforced Euronews’ presence in the region and that reflects its ‘continued commitment to objective and impartial news coverage in partnership with Azerbaijan’.
Tracing connections between Orbán, Aliyev, and Euronews
Euronews was originally founded in 1993 by a consortium of 10 members of the European Broadcasting Union seeking to counteract the prevailing American media landscape. Since then, the network has passed through a variety of owners, the most notable of which was its takeover by the Lisbon-based Alpac Capital.
In December 2021, reports began to surface that Alpac Capital would buy an 88% controlling stake in Euronews. The news sparked controversy as the Portuguese venture-capital firm has been linked to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as Politico reported that month.
One notable link is through Euronews Board Chair David himself, whose father, Mário David, is a long-time associate of Orbán’s. Mário David reportedly first became friends with Orbán in the early 1990s — in 2016, Orbán presented him with a state award ‘as a true friend’.
Despite claims to the contrary, an investigation by Direkt36, together with Expresso and the French newspaper Le Monde, found that a significant part of the €150 million ($175 million) deal to buy Euronews was financed by Hungarian state and government-related actors.
‘Although sources familiar with the inner workings of Euronews say there is no indication that the new owners are interfering in editorial decisions, leaked documents suggest that the acquisition of the channel was also motivated by political goals’, Direkt36 wrote, citing a preparatory document that stated the objectives of the acquisition as including ‘mitigating left-wing ideology and bias/one-sidedness’ in cooperation with universities.
Today, Alpac Capital owns a 97.6% stake in Euronews — the remaining shareholders are ADMIC (Abu Dhabi), SNRT (Morocco), and PBS (Malta).
At the same time, Orbán has close, long-standing ties with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Yousef Bardouka
‘Euronews opened their office in Baku. The [inauguration] was a pure propaganda party, with top officials hosting it’, journalist Rasmus Canbäck wrote on X about the opening ceremony.
‘The nowadays Hungary owned outlet, formerly being a reputable pan-European brand, is a tool for dictatorships’, he continued.
Critics have noted that especially since the takeover by Alpac Capital in 2022, Euronews has produced several ‘promotional-style videos’, all of which praised Azerbaijan for its oil and gas wealth, natural landscape, or economic achievements. In many cases, the narratives presented in the videos closely aligned with Azerbaijani state messaging.
Euronews has in previous years been one of the few foreign media outlets welcomed by Azerbaijan, with Aliyev having personally given multiple interviews to Euronews, which are highlighted both by his official administration as well as by Azerbaijani state media. Euronews also has an ongoing partnership with the Azerbaijani Tourist Board.
In July 2024, CivilNet reported that Direkt36’s investigation had uncovered an internal document in which editorial representatives specifically stated that they were not permitted to report freely about autocratic regimes which sponsor the channel, including Azerbaijan.
‘Either we are prevented from covering [certain] topics, or we are forced to address them with very precise instructions so as not to offend customers, or we are forced to praise a customer in the news’, the document reportedly read.
A backdrop of media repression
While Euronews has been widely praised and welcomed within Azerbaijan, the wider context shows a quickly decreasing media sphere, particularly of independent media.
Earlier in November, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) named Aliyev one of 34 ‘press freedom predators’ for his role in repressing press freedom within Azerbaijan.
‘Under Ilham Aliyev’s presidency, Azerbaijan has become a media wasteland. All critical voices are silenced, independent media outlets have been shut down or placed under state control, and the 2022 media law has institutionalised censorship’, the RSF wrote.
Since late 2023, dozens of independent Azerbaijani journalists have been arrested, often on charges of smuggling.
At the same time, Azerbaijan has revoked the accreditation of numerous international media outlets, including Voice of America, Bloomberg, and the BBC, the latter of which also had its offices shut down.
Ismi Aghayev
