The Moldovan public service broadcaster and media regulatory authorities should be free from political interference. This is the message of the OSCE Media Freedom Representative, Teresa Ribeiro, derived from a legal analysis of a set of amendments adopted in November 2021 which increased parliamentary control over Teleradio-Moldova and the Audiovisual Council.

Commissioned by Ribeiro’s Office, the legal analysis was prepared by an independent media freedom expert. The analysis assesses the compliance of the amendments with international human rights standards on freedom of expression and freedom of the media, and with key OSCE human dimension commitments.

“The legal analysis touches upon concerns regarding several of the amendments. In particular, it recommends to repeal amendments that subject the TRM Director-General to the political choice of the Parliament, including the decisions regarding his/her appointment, his/her performance assessment, and his/her dismissal”, the OSCE Office in Moldova said in a press release.

To properly safeguard the professionalism and expertise of TRM’s Supervisory and Development Board, the analysis recommends introducing clearer and more specific requirements for its membership. It also advises amending the Law, by enhancing guarantees that the nomination and election process of the members of TRM’s Supervisory and Development Board is conducted in a transparent and fair manner including by avoiding that the power to adopt the final decisions in this area is put in the hands of the incumbent parliamentary majority.

The analysis raises similar concerns regarding the practice of the submission to Parliament of an annual report by TRM’s Supervisory and Development Board. Even though considered to be a good accountability tool, it is noted that this practice should not provide Parliament with the power to dismiss the members of the Board.

“The functioning of the Moldovan public service broadcaster and the audiovisual media regulatory authorities must be provided in such a way, that the legislation protects these institutions against any potential political interference and influence of the dominant political party or coalition, thus allowing for a plurality of voices,” said the OSCE Media Freedom Representative.

“I call on the authorities to revisit the legal framework related to freedom of broadcasting in order to ensure its full compliance with international human rights standards and the OSCE commitments”, added Teresa Ribeiro.