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Рy30 July 2014
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According to representatives of the Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT), who presented on Wednesday, 30 July, a new edition of the “Euromonitor” study, the law on media ownership transparency, recently passed by the Parliament in the first reading, could be blocked at least until the elections this year.
Polina Panainte, an ADEPT representative, said that it was unlikely for the law to be adopted by the current Parliament since, she claimed, there are political interests behind it. “MPs reached a consensus regarding introduction of new concepts that will help collect data about the owners and beneficial owners of media outlets. We shall see what happens in September. Given the political impact of this law, the draft is unlikely to be passed in the final reading,” Polina Panainte said.
Earlier, during an interview for Radio Free Europe, Petru Macovei, director of the Association of Independent Press, also said that, despite the adoption of this draft law, “media ownership transparency will have to wait” and that “in the best case scenario, the draft will be voted on in final reading in October, before the start of the election campaign, which means that we will learn about the owners of the media only in May the next year.” It is because “the Parliament has been somewhat late with adopting this draft in the first reading. As the legislative process is rather complex, we will have to wait a few more months for the final reading. Moreover, there is no efficient mechanism for verifying ownership statements, which broadcasters will have to submit once a year according to this draft,” the media expert said.
At one of the last meetings of the spring-summer session, the Parliament voted on a draft law requiring broadcasters to disclose information about their owners. The draft involves introduction of modifications and supplements to several articles (2, 23, 28, etc.) of the Broadcasting Code of the Republic of Moldova. Thus, it suggests introducing new concepts that will contribute to collecting data about the “owners” and “beneficial owners” of media outlets and to granting more powers to the Broadcasting Coordinating Council in order to ensure the transparency of media ownership.
The draft law on modification and supplementation of the Broadcasting Code has been developed by the experts of the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) and registered in the Parliament as a legislative initiative by a group of MPs representing the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova.
Photo: http://www.sspolitehnica.ro/
Polina Panainte, an ADEPT representative, said that it was unlikely for the law to be adopted by the current Parliament since, she claimed, there are political interests behind it. “MPs reached a consensus regarding introduction of new concepts that will help collect data about the owners and beneficial owners of media outlets. We shall see what happens in September. Given the political impact of this law, the draft is unlikely to be passed in the final reading,” Polina Panainte said.
Earlier, during an interview for Radio Free Europe, Petru Macovei, director of the Association of Independent Press, also said that, despite the adoption of this draft law, “media ownership transparency will have to wait” and that “in the best case scenario, the draft will be voted on in final reading in October, before the start of the election campaign, which means that we will learn about the owners of the media only in May the next year.” It is because “the Parliament has been somewhat late with adopting this draft in the first reading. As the legislative process is rather complex, we will have to wait a few more months for the final reading. Moreover, there is no efficient mechanism for verifying ownership statements, which broadcasters will have to submit once a year according to this draft,” the media expert said.
At one of the last meetings of the spring-summer session, the Parliament voted on a draft law requiring broadcasters to disclose information about their owners. The draft involves introduction of modifications and supplements to several articles (2, 23, 28, etc.) of the Broadcasting Code of the Republic of Moldova. Thus, it suggests introducing new concepts that will contribute to collecting data about the “owners” and “beneficial owners” of media outlets and to granting more powers to the Broadcasting Coordinating Council in order to ensure the transparency of media ownership.
The draft law on modification and supplementation of the Broadcasting Code has been developed by the experts of the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) and registered in the Parliament as a legislative initiative by a group of MPs representing the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova.
Photo: http://www.sspolitehnica.ro/
