On December 30, 2023, the state of emergency, which had been in effect since February 24, 2022, expired in Moldova. During this period, dozens of websites were blocked in the country and the licenses of a number of TV channels were suspended, the content of which the authorities considered to be a risk to national security. Although this decision was taken for the duration of the state of emergency, the authorities have developed a new mechanism, according to which, after the end of the state of emergency, the information and media resources whose activities have been suspended will also be unable to operate. Media and human rights NGOs in Moldova condemned the new measures and the lack of transparency in its legislative process.
Civil society organizations expressed concern regarding the enactment of the recent mechanism for suspending television licenses, which entails the temporary cessation of permissive acts without requisite judicial intervention. CSOs censure the lack of transparency throughout the development, voting, and implementation phases of the new legal mechanism and urge the authorities to abandon such practices.
On the evening of December 29, 2023, a decision was disseminated by the Council for the Promotion of National Importance Investment Projects. This decision resulted in the suspension of broadcasting licenses for six television stations – entities previously targeted in the suspension directives of the Commission for Exceptional Situations. According to the document, the restrictions were imposed “for the period necessary to provide information and documents” requested because the authority found that the six media institutions had made “investments in areas important for the security of the state.”
In the statement adopted in this regard, CSOs emphasize that until December 29, 2023, when the restrictive measures were approved, the authorities kept the legal mechanisms they intended to implement secret, despite the press’s attempts to obtain information about the “legislative packages allowing the Executive to manage the situation outside the state of emergency.”
In fact, the mechanism for suspending television licenses outside a state of emergency was legislated through a bill that was voted on and promulgated on December 22, and subsequently published on December 23, 2023. Originally, the targeted bill outlined a series of interventions across multiple normative acts, with the aim of “ensuring the integrity and functionality of the electricity market.” This proposal underwent consultation and approval by relevant authorities during the period from August to November 2023 and was voted on in its first reading.
On December 18, 2023, just four days before the final vote, the bill designed to ensure the “integrity and functionality of the electricity market” was supplemented with an amendment. The proposed articles, introduced at the eleventh hour, included the mechanism for the temporary suspension of television licenses outside a state of emergency. These amendments were voted on in the final reading without undergoing public consultations.
According to media and human rights NGOs, the suspension of a broadcasting license constitutes a profound infringement upon the right to freedom of expression. Prior to the introduction of the new mechanism for halting permissive acts of audiovisual media service providers, the law permitted the forced suspension of broadcasting licenses only based on a court decision, which represented an additional guarantee of the legality of the authorities’ decisions. CSOs believe that the recently legislated powers held by the Council for the Promotion of National Importance Investment Projects have significant potential to be used to the detriment of press freedom.
At the same time, the lack of transparency demonstrated by the authorities in the legislative process of the license suspension mechanism represents a practice that contradicts the laws governing the involvement of civil society in governance processes.
In light of the fact that the suspension of media activities constitutes an infringement on the freedom of the press, public consultation on legislative initiatives with implications for this domain is of particular importance. The statement emphasizes that transparency and citizen participation in the decision-making process, in general, and civil society, in particular, are key instruments in the development of good governance. Secrecy and underestimating the importance of a thorough and nuanced review of proposed legislation, based on the recommendations of stakeholders and experts in the relevant field, are incompatible with the principles and values of a democratic state.
In the context of the aspirations of the Republic of Moldova’s to join the European Union, CSOs recall that Article 15 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union enshrines the principle of transparency, stating that decisions should be taken in as open a manner as possible and as close to the citizen as possible.
Civil society organizations request the authorities to ensure that any restriction on freedom of expression is allowed only to protect a legitimate interest as provided by the law and only when the restriction is proportional to the situation that prompted it, maintaining a fair balance between the protected interest and freedom of expression, as well as the public’s right to be informed. They also consider it important to ensure the observance of conditions for public consultation and involvement of relevant stakeholders in the process of identifying legal and necessary solutions. Statement signed by Independent Journalism Center, “Access-info” Center, Amnesty International Moldova, Association of Electronic Press, Legal Resources Center from Moldova, Promo-LEX Association and other civil society organizations.