OSCE Media Freedom Representative: “Moldovan public service broadcaster and media regulatory authorities should be free from political interference”

VIENNA, 14 January 2022 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, today presented a legal analysis of the Law on Amendments of the Code of Audiovisual Media Services of the Republic of Moldova, no. 174/2018, adopted on 4 November 2021. The amendments lead to increased parliamentary control over the public service broadcaster TeleRadio-Moldova (TRM) and the public authority regulating the public and private broadcast media, the Audiovisual Council.

Commissioned by the office of the RFoM, the legal analysis was prepared by an independent media freedom expert. The analysis assesses the compliance of the named Law with international human rights standards on freedom of expression and freedom of the media, and with key OSCE human dimension commitments.

The legal analysis touches upon concerns regarding several of the amendments. In particular, it recommends to repeal amendments that subject the TRM Director-General to the political choice of the Parliament, including the decisions regarding his/her appointment, his/her performance assessment, and his/her dismissal. This parliamentary control replaces the control over these matters previously held by TRM’s Supervisory and Development Board.

To properly safeguard the professionalism and expertise of TRM’s Supervisory and Development Board, the analysis recommends introducing clearer and more specific requirements for its membership. It also advises amending the Law, by enhancing guarantees that the nomination and election process of the members of TRM’s Supervisory and Development Board is conducted in a transparent and fair manner including by avoiding that the power to adopt the final decisions in this area is put in the hands of the incumbent parliamentary majority.

The analysis raises similar concerns regarding the practice of the submission to Parliament of an annual report by TRM’s Supervisory and Development Board. Even though considered to  be a good accountability tool (since it facilitates a proper oversight and exchange about the ways the public service media institutions have interpreted and implemented their role and remit.), it is  noted that this practice should not provide Parliament with the power to dismiss the members of the Board and to alter one of the basic pillars of public service governance: independence based on clear mandates of high-level bodies’ members.

The amendments also introduce new provisions regarding the requirements and qualifications for appointment and possible dismissal of the members of the Audiovisual Council. The  related provisions on this are essentially identical as those applicable to the governance body of TRM and are, therefore, advised to be repealed as well.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media underlined the importance of independence of these public institutions. “The functioning of the Moldovan public service broadcaster and the audiovisual media regulatory authorities must be provided in such a way, that the legislation protects these institutions against any potential political interference and influence of the dominant political party or coalition, thus allowing for a plurality of voices,” the Representative said. “I call on the authorities to revisit the legal framework related to freedom of broadcasting in order to ensure its full compliance with international human rights standards and the OSCE commitments.”

“I hope that this legal expertise will serve as a useful contribution to media reform efforts in the Republic of Moldova. My Office stands ready to engage in further consultations and discuss the findings and recommendations of the legal analysis with all relevant stakeholders,” Ribeiro added in her earlier letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, Nicu Popescu.

The full text of the legal analysis is available here: https://www.osce.org/representative-on-freedom-of-media/509792.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.