Deutsche Welle reverses decision to close Greek-language service

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Deutsche Welle has reversed its decision to shut down its historic Greek-language programme at the beginning of 2027, following sustained pressure from Greece and interventions at the highest political level.

The decision to discontinue the Greek service had been announced in February as part of a broader €21 million savings programme at Germany’s international public broadcaster. At the time, DW said the Greek service would be completely discontinued from January 1, 2027, making Greek the only one of its 32 language services to be fully eliminated. (DW News)

According to reports published on September 19, the DW Broadcasting Council unanimously decided to retain the Greek Programme, reversing the earlier decision.

The reversal follows a series of interventions from Athens, including efforts by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who reportedly raised the future of the Greek service with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

A service with a unique place in Greek history

The Greek Programme has operated for more than six decades and has a particularly significant place in modern Greek media history.

During the period of the military dictatorship from 1967 to 1974, DW’s Greek-language broadcasts from Cologne provided an important source of independent information for audiences in Greece at a time when the country’s media were subject to censorship.

The service broadcast news, political commentary, interviews and cultural programming, including music by artists whose work had been banned by the junta.

The historical role of the Greek Programme was also highlighted in German media coverage following the original closure announcement.

Greek-German political contacts

Following the initial announcement, Greek officials and politicians launched efforts to persuade German counterparts to reconsider the decision.

According to reports, contacts were developed between members of Greece’s New Democracy and Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Deputy Foreign Minister Tasos Chatzivasileiou and MP Filippos Fortomas reportedly raised the issue with German counterparts, including during the CDU congress.

The effort subsequently continued through contacts within the European People’s Party, with Chatzivasileiou playing a role in maintaining communication with German political figures.

Support for the continuation of the Greek service was also reportedly sought from figures involved in Greek-German relations, including Thomas Rachel, chairman of the Greek-German Friendship Group in the German Bundestag, former Konrad Adenauer Foundation Athens director Marian Wendt, Metropolitan Augoustinos of Germany and Fedon Kotsampopoulos, president of the German-Greek Business Association.

DW’s wider financial pressures

The original decision to close the Greek service formed part of wider financial pressures facing Deutsche Welle.

Germany reduced its federal funding for DW by €10 million in 2026, while additional costs linked to agreed wage increases contributed to the broadcaster’s need to identify total savings of approximately €21 million.

The cuts led to reductions across the organisation and sparked protests by DW employees and journalists.

In April, around 300 people reportedly took part in a demonstration outside DW’s headquarters in Bonn, with the Greek Programme specifically highlighted as one of the services affected.

The decision to preserve the Greek-language service means that a programme that has connected German and Greek audiences for more than 60 years will continue beyond the previously announced January 2027 closure date.

For Greek audiences, the reversal preserves a broadcasting service whose history stretches from the years of dictatorship to the country’s economic crisis and the digital media era.

The Greek Programme will therefore continue as part of Deutsche Welle’s international broadcasting network.

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