‘Postponing Is Not an Option’. The Council of Europe Representative Urges Moldovan Authorities to Pass Laws on Advertising and Access to Information

The legislation on advertising and access to information ‘is an important part of law that has been postponed, but postponement is not an option. You cannot postpone the future’, Silvia Grundmann, the media representative of the Council of Europe, said at the Concluding Conference of the European Union and Council of Europe Joint Project – ‘Promoting media freedom and pluralism in the Republic of Moldova’. The event took place on the 14th of December in Chisinau and brought together representatives of the EU, MPs and media experts.

The conference participants discussed the outcomes of the Parliamentary Working Group on media legislation improvement. The head of the Media and Internet Division of the Information Society Department of the Council of Europe's Information Society and Action against Crime Directorate, Silvia Grundmann, mentioned how important it is to improve the legal framework in such areas as advertising, access to information and protection of personal data. The European official recalled that these laws were postponed, and that postponing is not an option.

‘Taking into account the fact that you have worked a lot so far, I think you are willing to continue working. And yes, there will still be many controversial discussions, but in the end you will go ahead and you will have a law on advertising, a law on access to information and a law on protection of personal data. All these laws are important for economic development’, Silvia Grundmann said.
Peter Michalco, the head of the European Union Delegation in Chisinau also referred to the need for the adoption of these laws at a conference: ‘We would like to see progress in adopting other laws on advertising, tax incentives and access to information that, along with the legislation already adopted, would create a better, higher quality legal environment’, Michalco said.

In the opinion of Andrian Candu, the Speaker of the Parliament, the Parliamentary Group has proposed an ambitious agenda and managed to improve media legislation through a professional approach. According to the speaker, ‘a priority is to improve access to information and encourage the development of domestic media products, including through tax incentives’.
We’d like to mention that the four laws drafted by the Working Group were passed in final reading: The Audiovisual Media Services Code of the Republic of Moldova, the National Media Development Concept of the Republic of Moldova, the Law on Attracting Foreign Investments in Film Production and Other Audiovisual Works and the Information Security Concept of the Republic of Moldova.

Only the Law on Advertising and the Law on the Protection of Personal Data were adopted in the first reading. Although it was registered with the Parliament, the Draft on Amendments and Addenda of seven laws, including the Law on Access to Information and the Law on Freedom of Expression, did not reach the MPs' agenda.