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Stepan Piron, recently appointed Chairman of GRT by the Board of Observers, informed Media Azi that the request for license extension has not been submitted to the Broadcasting Coordinating Council for because his predecessor, Ana Harlamenco, had failed to prepare and send the necessary documents in due time. “We are in a very complicated situation now. The former Chair of the company has not submitted the documents necessary for the first stage of review by the members of the Board of Observers. Hence, they have not been forwarded further, to other state institutions, for review”. In addition, Mr. Piron informed that since he took office he could not take any steps to move things forward, as the ex-Chair of GRT had kept some of the company's authentication papers.
In her turn, Ana Harlamenco denied that she would hold any of the company's documents. “Before my dismissal I prepared all documentation for license extension and was going to submit it to the Broadcasting Coordinating Council. I did not complete the task because I was dismissed. In my opinion, there is only one explanation why Stepan Piron was appointed: the new management seeks separation from the national broadcasting regulatory body and licensing by the local authority. It is unfortunate that no license extension request was submitted to the Broadcasting Coordinating Council; given the circumstances, the company will have to get a new license by winning a tender, although they could just extend it”, specified Ana Harlamenco.
Asked by Media Azi, Dinu Ciocan, Chairman of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council, confirmed that broadcasters that fail to submit requests for extension of their licenses within a reasonable time lose the right to operate and their licenses are tendered. GRT's license has expired on May 7, 2015. The Broadcasting Coordinating Council are going to meet next week to discuss the issue.
