Media NGOs Condemn Repeated Attempts by Gagauzia Authorities to Undermine Press Freedom and Call for Immediate Withdrawal of Legislative Initiative

Non-governmental organizations in the field of media vehemently condemn the attempts by the Executive Committee and the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia to undermine press freedom in the region by establishing a “parallel” mechanism for licensing the activities of audiovisual media in the region, as well as other provisions that compromise the role and independence of the regional public media service provider, Gagauziya Radio Televizionu (GRT). The undersigned NGOs call for the immediate withdrawal of the legislative initiative that flagrantly contravenes the laws of the Republic of Moldova.

On June 25, the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia approved, in the first reading, a package of amendments to a local law regulating the activities of audiovisual media. The draft aims, among other things, to create a new licensing procedure for TV and radio stations in the region, which involves obtaining a permit called Izin from the General Directorate of Construction and Infrastructure of the ATU Gagauzia, for a fee. This legislative innovation implies circumventing the mechanism for obtaining a broadcasting license from the Audiovisual Council (CA) – the only authority that can decide on granting a media service provider within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Moldova the right to broadcast a certain linear audiovisual media service.

The amendments approved by the legislative body of the ATU Gagauzia also contain a series of inappropriate and legally inconsistent interventions in the operating mechanisms of the public audiovisual media service provider GRT. Among these is the creation of an annual evaluation procedure for the activities of employees by a “special commission,” which would include a member from the local legislative body, presenting a significant potential to undermine the independence of the public provider.

Constitutional norms (Article 111) explicitly guarantee that all rights and freedoms provided by the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Moldova are guaranteed in the territory of ATU Gagauzia. Gagauzia can be governed based on the normative acts of the People’s Assembly only if these do not contravene the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Moldova (Article 2).

We remind that, by virtue of the Audiovisual Media Services Code and the legislation regulating authorization procedures for certain activities, the Audiovisual Council (CA) is the only authority legally empowered to decide on the issuance of permits for broadcasting a specific audiovisual media service.

The establishment of parallel authorization mechanisms, such as Izin, by the authorities of the ATU Gagauzia, constitutes an attempt to circumvent the existing authorization regime and contravenes the state’s legislation, as well as international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party.

The undersigned organizations recognize the need to amend ATU Gagauzia’s Audiovisual Law No. 66/2016— a normative act that does not meet the requirements of the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2010/13/EU— to align with national legislation and international standards.

At the same time, we reiterate that interventions in the mechanisms concerning GRT’s activity are irrelevant to the effort to improve the quality of the local law. Reducing the broadcasting quota of content in the Gagauz language, empowering the technical/financial director with the responsibility of managing GRT, or reducing the number of Supervisory Council members on the grounds that “it is complicated to gather so many people in the same place” do not constitute relevant modifications to improve local regulations.

The undersigned NGOs condemn the attempts by ATU Gagauzia’s authorities to undermine press freedom, expressing regret over the recurrence of such deviations. We call on ATU Gagauzia’s authorities to immediately withdraw the legislative initiative that flagrantly contravenes the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party.

Independent Journalism Center

Association of Independent Press

 Association of Electronic Press

Press Freedom Committee

Environment and Ecotourism Journalists’ Association

 RISE Moldova

 ‘Access-info’ Center

 Media Guard Association