The Association of Independent Press (API) said the draft law on the post office runs counter to the EU’s Postal Services Directive. The bill, which was passed by Parliament in the first reading at the end of last December, excludes the distribution of books, catalogues, newspapers and other publications from the universal postal service, IPN reports.
In a letter to the Parliament’s administration and the commission on culture, education, sport and mass media, the API asks to exclude the provisions concerning the distribution of the press because these are against the European Postal Services Directive. “At practical level, this amendment will mean that the state-run company “Moldova’s Post Office”, which is the national postal services operator that has a dominant position on the market, will no longer be obliged to collect, sort, transport and distribute publications,” reads the letter.
According to the API, these legislative changes offer “Moldova’s Post Office” the possibility of refusing to cooperate with the editors of publications or to adopt a selective or discriminatory attitude to them. “Such a situation would lead to the bankruptcy of many editorial offices, would infringe on the people’s right to information and would affect the pluralism of opinion in Moldova,” says the letter.
The Association of Independent Press said the exclusion of the distribution of the press from the universal postal service will represent regression in the field.
