The European Parliament, worried about the requirements of the new Audiovisual Code on the obligatory local content

The resolution adopted on Thursday, 5 July, by the European Parliament regarding the political situation in the Republic of Moldova calls on the Moldovan authorities to adopt the new Code in a transparent manner, following consultations with civil society and independent media.  At the same time, the European Parliament ‘expresses its concern as to whether independent, local and opposition media in Moldova, which among other things lack sufficient resources, will be able to implement the new Code’s requirements regarding obligatory local content’.
 
We would like to remind you that previously multiple broadcasters stated that they were unhappy with the mandatory 8-hour amount of local product provided by the new Code, because they believed it was too much. In a letter to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, countersigned by Pro TV Chisinau, TV 8 and Jurnal TV channels, which highlighted the following among others: ‘The 8-hour quota was not introduced into the new law by accident. It is a deliberate decision, by which they intend to remove the independent TV stations from the market’.
 
The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Commission for Culture, Education, Research, Youth, Sports and Mass Media, Vladimir Hotineanu is one of the MPs who registered the new draft Code with the Parliament and he claims that currently a complex legal framework is being prepared, which will allow the development of local television products. ‘When it comes to the 8-hour term, there is a draft law on financing cinema and TV production. A committee will be established where TV channels will submit projects to receive funding for the preparation of domestic products.  We hope that this draft will be adopted in the final reading by the end of the current session. There are five other laws related to this Code, including the Law on Advertising’, Vladimir Hotineanu told Media-azi.md.

However, the TV8 producer Natalia Morari does not trust the authorities’ promises. In her opinion, their purpose is to burden independent TV stations with high expenditures and a big workload and, at the same time, to reduce their access to the advertising market. ‘It is true that we need to do everything to develop the local media market; so that we, the ones who produce local shows, would compete with other local shows, but not with those produced on the Romanian, Russian or Ukrainian markets. You can’t paint nicely the facade of a building the foundation of which you want to destroy. Improving the media situation needs a systemic approach, first of all, by ensuring the independence of the Broadcasting Coordination Council and the Competition Council. This Code is needed, but I am afraid that the big problem will not be solved’, commented Natalia Morari for Media-azi.md.
 
The Parliament approved the draft Code of Audiovisual Media Services the first reading on 20 April and then international organisations, such as the OSCE, the Council of Europe and Freedom House provided their expert review and recommendations for the improvement of the draft law. Previously, Parliament's leadership stated that they intended to adopt the Code in the second reading in the current session, which ends later this month.