MPs Approved A Draft Law that Leaves Room for Some Questions

On Friday, February 26, the Parliament adopted in the first and second reading a draft law on modifying and supplementing the Broadcasting Code, developed by a group of MPs from the Party of Socialists (PSRM), according to which the number of licenses that can be held by media owners shall be reduced. The examination of the draft and its voting in both readings took only minutes, which made Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) MP Chiril Lucinschi declare that the law has been adopted in violation of “basic legislative techniques.” Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) chairman Dinu Ciocan could not tell us what impact the law might have, since the text was not yet published in the Official Monitor.

Draft law no. 39 was registered in the Parliament on February 17, 2016, and its rushed adoption at the meeting of February 26 was motivated by the fact that the Parliament thus took into consideration the recommendation of the Council of the European Union, which had drawn Moldova’s attention to the need to improve the national legislation in order to limit media ownership concentration and ensure media pluralism.

The authors of the draft law – Socialist MPs Vladimir Turcan, Eduard Smirnov, Grigore Novac, Adrian Lebedischi – proposed modifying article 66 of the current Broadcasting Code by replacing in paragraph 3 the phrase “not more than five broadcasting licenses” with the phrase “not more than two broadcasting licenses,” and in paragraph 4, the phrase “not more than two broadcasters of different types” with the phrase “not more than 1 broadcaster of different types.”

MP Chiril Lucinschi declared for the journalists accredited to the Parliament that his parliamentary group supports modifications to the Broadcasting Code and reduction of the number of licenses from 5 to 2, but that the draft law presented by the Socialists “is absolutely unprepared.” “We asked this draft law to be voted only in the first reading and were going to prepare for the second reading some amendments that would cast light on what MPs said today,” Chiril Lucinschi said. According to him, the law was adopted in violation of the “legislative procedure provided by the legislation,” as the draft was voted on without first being approved by the Government.

Adrian Lebedischi, one of the authors of the draft law, who also made statements for the press, regretted the fact that “the moment of the law’s entry into force has been omitted.” A for the way in which the law will act, the MP explained: “An owner that has more than 2 licenses shall decide which one to give up when the first license expires.”

Contacted by Media Azi, BCC chairman Dinu Ciocan could not tell us what impact this draft law might have on the situation in broadcasting. “We first have to see the amendments made by MPs, conditions in which the law enters into force,” he said. When asked how much the law will contribute to de-monopolizing the media market, Dinu Ciocan estimated that “concentration will be somewhat limited, because the law will not allow one media owner to hold more than 2 licenses.” Dinu Ciocan, however, said that the majority of licenses were issued for 7 years. Because according to the draft law proposed by Socialists these provisions shall be applied after expiry of the license, it means that the law will be applicable only since 2021 for those who obtained licenses in 2014 or since 2022 for those who obtained licenses in 2015.

On Monday, February 29, the parliamentary commission for culture, education, research, youth, sport and mass media will resume public consultations on the draft Broadcasting Code, which began in December 2015.