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Рy23 August 2019
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The Government developed the draft 2019-2020 Government Action Plan which also includes short- and long-term actions in the area of mass-media. For instance, September 2019 is the deadline for reviewing the fees the Public Services Agency charges for access to information, and for the amendment of renting fees for editorial offices. The Government has the intention to amend the Competition Law and the Audiovisual Media Services Code in June 2020.
According to the draft, the Government intends to abolish or to reduce the fees the Public Services Agency charges for access to information of public interest for journalistic purposes. Investigation journalists have been raising this issue for years in a row, complaining about the too big expenses they had to incur in order to obtain information from the cadastre.
The Government also means to adopt the draft law amending the State Budget Law, according to which mass-media institutions would pay smaller amounts for renting offices in public buildings, same as civic associations.
In the same train of thought, the Cabinet of Ministers intends to review the Decision of Filip Government regarding Casa Presei SOE by establishing some conditions meant to make it easier for mass-media institutions to rent offices. One of the proposals is to establish an Oversight Committee consisting of representatives of mass-media institutions that would monitor the work of the Casa Presei SOE administration and would be able to ask the Government to act depending on the monitoring outcomes.
For the long term, the Action Plan provides for removing discriminatory conditions from agreements on distribution of periodicals, which Posta Moldovei imposed.
The legislation is to be amended by June 2020 so as to ensure the transparent, criteria- and merit-based selection of the Teleradio-Moldova Supervisory Board members, and to request European support to fund, over the next 4-5 years, the work of a credible television audience measurement company on the audiovisual market.
Last but not least, amending the Audiovisual Media Services Code so that the 5 members of the BC proposed from among civil society organisations are selected by organisations from different areas, with the Parliamentary Committee only taking note of it without being able to influence it, is also on the agenda.
The legislation will also be supplemented to provide for the personal accountability of BC members if they take any action in the audiovisual area that is straightforward illegal or detrimental to public interest.
Regarding the Competition Council, the Government has the intention to simplify the forms and facilitate the procedure of signaling cases of unfair competition or cartel agreements.
Note that after the Prime Minister Maia Sandu took office, she had a meeting with mass-media representatives who she asked to raise the key issues in the mass-media area and to propose potential solutions for each of them.
According to the draft, the Government intends to abolish or to reduce the fees the Public Services Agency charges for access to information of public interest for journalistic purposes. Investigation journalists have been raising this issue for years in a row, complaining about the too big expenses they had to incur in order to obtain information from the cadastre.
The Government also means to adopt the draft law amending the State Budget Law, according to which mass-media institutions would pay smaller amounts for renting offices in public buildings, same as civic associations.
In the same train of thought, the Cabinet of Ministers intends to review the Decision of Filip Government regarding Casa Presei SOE by establishing some conditions meant to make it easier for mass-media institutions to rent offices. One of the proposals is to establish an Oversight Committee consisting of representatives of mass-media institutions that would monitor the work of the Casa Presei SOE administration and would be able to ask the Government to act depending on the monitoring outcomes.
For the long term, the Action Plan provides for removing discriminatory conditions from agreements on distribution of periodicals, which Posta Moldovei imposed.
The legislation is to be amended by June 2020 so as to ensure the transparent, criteria- and merit-based selection of the Teleradio-Moldova Supervisory Board members, and to request European support to fund, over the next 4-5 years, the work of a credible television audience measurement company on the audiovisual market.
Last but not least, amending the Audiovisual Media Services Code so that the 5 members of the BC proposed from among civil society organisations are selected by organisations from different areas, with the Parliamentary Committee only taking note of it without being able to influence it, is also on the agenda.
The legislation will also be supplemented to provide for the personal accountability of BC members if they take any action in the audiovisual area that is straightforward illegal or detrimental to public interest.
Regarding the Competition Council, the Government has the intention to simplify the forms and facilitate the procedure of signaling cases of unfair competition or cartel agreements.
Note that after the Prime Minister Maia Sandu took office, she had a meeting with mass-media representatives who she asked to raise the key issues in the mass-media area and to propose potential solutions for each of them.
