The Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) criticizes the bill to amend the Broadcasting Law of Gagauzia, describing it as illegal as it impinges on the Council’s right to regulate broadcasting in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, IPN reports.

In a communiqué, the BCC says that by this bill the Gagauz authorities want to substitute the legal powers of the BCC and of the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology to issue broadcast and utilization licenses and retransmission authorizations, including for ground frequencies that form part of the national heritage. The Gagauz authorities intend to authorize the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia to monitor and control the observance by the broadcasters and service providers of the Broadcasting Law of Gagauzia and to substitute the legal powers of the BCC. They also want to institute another procedure for choosing and naming the members of the Supervisory Board of the Regional Public Broadcaster “Gagauziya Radio Televizionu”.

The BCC members consider the actions of the Gagauz authorities are against their legal powers as the Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia does not allow them to draft and adopt laws running counter to the Constitution and legislation of the Republic of Moldova and to perform broadcasting licensing activities.

The Council believes that by this bill the Gagauz authorities are trying to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova, reason for which they decided to inform the Presidential Office, Parliament, the Government, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Constitutional Court and the Information and Security Service about the intention to add illegal norms to the Broadcasting Law of Gagauzia.