Implementation of EU-Moldova Action Plan had no impact on situation of mass media in Moldova, study authors say

The implementation of the EU-Moldova Plan of Action (EUMPA) had practically no positive effects on the situation of mass media in Moldova. Such a conclusion is contained in the study “Development of Mass Media Freedom in the Context of EUMPA Implementation”, which was presented in Chisinau on November 17, Info-Prim Neo reports. One of the study authors Olivia Partac said that among the most important accomplishments is the adoption of the Broadcasting Code and of the Law on Personal Data Protection, which is one of the state’s commitments to protect the persons when the personal data are processed automatically. “Practically nothing else has changed. The legislation is not very good, but it is also not very bad. Moldova’s major problem is that the laws are not implemented. There is always a lacuna that someone can use to abuse or intimidate,” Olivia Partac said. According to the author, the Law on the Press that regulates the activity of periodicals and news agencies is outdated and inappropriate. Some of the stipulations of the law are even dangerous and allow that Moldova be convicted by the ECHR. For example, the activity of a periodical can be stopped when the law is regularly broken. The types of violations are not specified and there is no proportionality between the violation and punishment, Partac said. Expert Eugeniu Rabca, another author of the study, said that the Broadcasting Code contains a number of deficient and interpretable stipulations that have been a permanent instrument for exerting political and economic pressure on mass media. As a result, the broadcasting regulatory authority has been constantly subjected to pressure, while the Broadcasting Coordination Council is not independent. According to Eugeniu Ravca, when the Code was worked out, not much attention was paid to the creation of a truly public broadcaster, not of a company that looks like a state institution. “When the EU-Moldova Plan of Action was adopted, the Moldovan authorities pledged to provide assistance to the print and electronic press according to objective and fair criteria. This did not happen. Unfortunately, the state offers direct financing only to the mass media that puts the public authorities in a favorable light,” the expert said. The EU-Moldova Plan of Action was signed on February 22, 2005 in Brussels and expired in February 2008. The EUMPA says two things about mass media: the first is specific – the state should offer financial assistance to mass media according to strict and objective criteria equal for all the media outlets; the second is generic – all the other aspects of the freedom of expression and freedom of the media must comply with the European standards. The study “Development of Mass Media Freedom in the Context of EUMPA Implementation” was carried out as part of the Moldova-EU Relations – Improving Public Information and Debate on Key Developments Project, which is implemented by the Association for Participatory Democracy “Adept” and financed by Soros Moldova Foundation.