The information sphere of Moldova must be protected from foreign propaganda, but the legislation should not contain provisions that would undermine the freedom of the media and would violate the people’s right to information. The suggestions were made in the debate: “Challenges in the media space of the Republic of Moldova – propaganda and national products” where there were discussed the MPs’ proposals for amending the broadcasting legislation. Except national experts, the debates involved experts from Ukraine, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Hungary, IPN reports.

Head of Parliament Andrian Candu, who moderated the debate, said there are contradictory opinions in Moldova as to how the national information sphere should be protected. He voiced hope that the legislation in the field will be improved based on the proposals formulated in the event.

The head of the parliamentary commission on mass media Vladimir Hotineanu said the countries of Eastern Europe are the most exposed to propaganda because of the different national minorities and parties with different political agendas that exist here. In Moldova, the legislation on the counteracting of propaganda is superficial and needs to be improved.

Democratic MP Sergiu Sarbu, one of the authors of the bills to amend the Broadcasting Code, said the goal is not to ban Russian TV channels in Moldova, as it is rumored, but to fight propaganda and piracy. Owing to piracy, the media sector is affected a lot and the potential investors are discouraged. Now Moldova has no instrument for securing its media space.

According to media experts, the government forces the separate adoption of two bills, drafted by Liberal and Democratic MPs, even if initially it was said that these will be merged with the new Broadcasting Code that was adopted in the first reading.

Petru Macovei, executive director of the Association of Independent Press, told the journalists that these debates are superficial and are held with the aim of showing that the legislature works. If the Democrats’ bill is passed in the current variant, conditions of unfair competition on the media market will be created because the TV channels that can ensure eight hours of national products will do it, while those that do not have such resources will be simply eliminated.

In their speeches, the foreign experts called on the Moldovan authorities to find the best solutions to fight propaganda by studying the experience of the neighboring countries, such as Ukraine.