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According to the National Concept for Media Development, which was intended as a reference point for media public policies, the Government was supposed to develop and approve the program of steps for the implementation of the concept within six months after the act came into force (i.e. since August 2018), yet it has not been completed yet. The Government representatives claim they have taken “a series of necessary steps”, but no definite action plan has been made public.
According to an official response from the Government to Media Azi, initially, the State Chancellery established the procedure for identifying the central public authority in charge of developing media public policies in coordination with the dedicated parliamentary committee and civil society representatives. Subsequently, according to them, a working group on this segment was founded; it established that the prerogative of developing and promoting public policies in this regard should be assigned to the Ministry of Justice. In late November 2020, the Ministry of Justice suggested modifying the number of persons who would deal with this segment to seven in its request to the State Chancellery and the Ministry of Finance.
“On December 22, 2020, the State Chancellery (SC) presented the preliminary opinion with its recommendations. After determining the Impact Assessment, according to the recommendations of the institutions concerned, the draft accompanied by the Impact Assessment and the preliminary opinion of the Ministry of Finance and the State Chancellery will be filed to the SC for registration, to be discussed at the meeting of the General Secretaries of the State to include the project on the Government meeting agenda”, according to the reply from the Communication and Protocol Department.
Only after that, when the draft law is approved, the authorities could establish the program of steps and the objectives of the Government according to the obligations resulting from the Concept.
THE LAW IS IGNORED
Ion Bunduchi, Executive Director of the Association of Electronic Press and one of the participants of drafting the document, considers that the lack of progress in this sector implies incorrect development of the media system. “It means that the media develops as chaotically as before, though there is a clear idea of how it is supposed to evolve; the law is ignored; the lack of the authorities’ interest in developing the media according to democratic principles stipulated in the Concept is obvious”, Bunduchi explains.
The media expert considers that things could be boosted with the help of the working group to improve media legislation. “The good option for the working group would be to resume its activity, and for the Government to adopt and manage the implementation of the objectives stipulated by the respective documents”, Ion Bunduchi affirms.
