The EU is pumping more money than it has previously acknowledged – €35 million annually – into a handful of media outlets that would have difficulty surviving without substantial subsidies, a Euractiv analysis has found.

Though the European Commission insists its aim is to promote “media pluralism”, the generous subsidies arguably skew the marketplace against independent media outlets (including Euractiv) at a time of severe disruption in the sector.

The Commission claims its ambition is to “build a better European public sphere”. Yet there is scant evidence it has succeeded, despite years of subsidies.