The Republic of Moldova

Country Overview

2024 marked a pivotal year for Moldova’s European Union integration, with the country officially beginning accession negotiations in June and enshrining EU integration as a national goal in the Constitution through a constitutional referendum in October. That same month, pro-European incumbent Maia Sandu was reelected for a second term. However, the media landscape faced ongoing challenges, including politicization, financial instability, and a lack of human resources. Moldova’s press freedom ranking dropped three places to 31st in the Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index due to political interference, such as TV channel license suspensions and unclear media regulations introduced at the end of 2023. The media environment remained polarized, influenced by exiled oligarchs and online disinformation, hindering media independence and transparency. Nationally, progress was made in addressing audiovisual ownership concentration, but transparency in digital and print media ownership remains a major issue. The Audiovisual Council (AC) continued its role as a genuine regulatory body, advancing media regulation.

In January 2024, Moldova’s new Law on Access to Information of Public Interest (No. 148/ June 9, 2023) came into effect, though its implementation was slow, particularly in improving the responsiveness of public institutions. In April 2024, Parliament adopted the Media Subsidy Fund, setting transparent rules for direct subsidies to media outlets, though the distribution process had not been implemented by year’s end. Steps were taken to operationalize the Fund, including selecting Expert Council members to evaluate proposals and approving regulations for its functioning. Indirect subsidies for print media were allocated for the first time by the Government, using transparent criteria. However, regulatory and legislative gaps remain, especially regarding state advertising and digital media transparency.

Public service media face ongoing challenges with governance and political interference, particularly in the appointment of the Director General and Supervisory and Development Board (SDB) members, which remain subject to parliamentary control. Concerns about political influence over financing persist, although improvements in editorial content quality have been noted by national and international organizations.

Security threats to journalists, both physical and digital, continue to be a major concern. In 2024, harassment and intimidation against journalists, especially in sensitive regions like Autonomous Territorial Unit (ATU) Gagauzia and Transnistria, persisted, with media organizations reporting numerous incidents of attacks and intimidation.

Fundamental Protection

The Fundamental Protection area scores within the medium-high risk band. Key points include:

• Moldova’s constitutional guarantees and international commitments remain the foundation of freedom of expression. However, a mechanism introduced in late 2023 – implemented throughout 2024 – allows for the suspension or revocation of TV licenses without prior judicial oversight, raising concerns about legal predictability and potential misuse.
• Although no journalists were killed or subjected to politically motivated arrests or imprisonments in 2024, they faced numerous threats and intimidation, including physical attacks, verbal assaults, and online harassment, indicating persistent challenges to press freedom.
• The absence of tailored national legislation on digital content moderation has resulted in reliance on large platforms’ often arbitrary moderation policies. This has led to disproportionate removal or flagging of local content, complicating efforts to counter disinformation. Discussions are ongoing regarding the designation of a national authority responsible for digital content oversight—often compared to the EU’s Digital Services Coordinator role—highlighting existing regulatory gaps even though Moldova is not subject to the Digital Services Act (DSA).
• While media NGOs and the Press Council remain active in upholding professional standards, ongoing financial instability and political influence hinder the overall sustainability and safety of the journalistic profession in 2024.
• Protection of the right to information faces medium-low risk due to ongoing challenges in proactive transparency and the handling of public information requests by public institutions, despite meeting international transparency standards in legislation.

Market Plurality

Market Plurality area scores within the high risk band. Key points include:

• Media ownership transparency has improved, particularly in broadcasting, but regulations for print and digital media are lacking, leading to opaque ownership structures.
• Editorial independence remains vulnerable to commercial and owner influence, with insufficient legal or self-regulatory safeguards against arbitrary interventions, exacerbated by political pressures.
• Industry-wide norms exist but are mostly based on self-regulation, lacking uniform adoption across the sector, leaving editorial autonomy at risk.

Political Independence

The Political Independence area scores within the medium-low risk band. Key points include:

• The absence of robust regulatory and enforcement mechanisms to support self-regulatory safeguards leaves Moldovan journalists vulnerable to political and commercial pressures.
• Political coverage during elections continues to present challenges for both public and private audiovisual media. Monitoring reports from national and international organizations indicate some improvement compared to previous years. Notably, Moldova’s public service media has improved its election coverage, though it still tends to favor the government and, by extension, the ruling party’s candidate. On the other hand, private audiovisual media have made some progress in political representation but remain influenced by financial and political interests.
• State support for the media sector in 2024 remained in the developmental phase. In April, Parliament adopted Law on the Media Subsidy Fund, but the distribution of direct state subsidies to media outlets has not yet been implemented. By year-end, several key regulations steps were taken to operationalize the Fund, with subsidy allocation expected to begin in 2025.
• State advertising remains unregulated and is not addressed in any legislation. Furthermore, there is no designated authority responsible for monitoring and reporting on it.
• The arbitrary suspension of audiovisual broadcasting licenses continues to be a major concern. These suspensions are often justified by claims of non-transparent funding and alleged links to criminal networks. However, media representatives argue that these actions lack transparency, proportionality, and judicial oversight, on the long-term raising concerns about selective enforcement and potential political motivations.
• Moldova’s public service media (PSM) remains susceptible to political influence. The 2021 amendments, which reinstated parliamentary oversight of PSM, remain in effect in 2024, reinforcing the longstanding perception of PSM as a political tool for successive governments. Despite commitments from the current government, as well as recommendations from the Council of Europe, the European Commission, and the local media community to restore previous provisions (where the Supervisory and Development Board would be elected by the Audiovisual Council and the president of PSM would be appointed by the SDB), this promise has yet to be fulfilled in 2024.

Social Inclusiveness

The Social Inclusiveness area registered a medium-low risk score. Key points include:

• Although public service media is widely accessible, with nearly the entire country having access, the prominence of its content remains insufficient. Despite progress in audience engagement, the issue of ‘appropriate prominence’ has not been effectively addressed at the national or regional levels. A key challenge remains its struggle to compete with private media in terms of content quality.
• Accessibility of media for people with disabilities continues to be a significant concern. While access for the general public is largely guaranteed and protected by legislation, media accessibility for people with disabilities remains a significant issue. Despite legal provisions (such as Article 16 of the Audiovisual Media Service Code, AMSC), implementation and enforcement face major challenges. Financial constraints and a lack of qualified professionals further hinder progress.