{"id":14671,"date":"2026-11-04T17:12:38","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T15:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/?p=14671"},"modified":"2026-11-06T16:16:04","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T14:16:04","slug":"ec-report-on-moldova-political-influence-and-financial-vulnerability-continue-to-affect-the-media-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/ec-report-on-moldova-political-influence-and-financial-vulnerability-continue-to-affect-the-media-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"EC report on Moldova: Political influence and financial vulnerability continue to affect the media sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

Media ownership concentration and political influence over the press persist in the Republic of Moldova, while financial difficulties continue to drive many journalists out of the profession. Although the number of reported intimidation cases decreased from 66 in 2024 to 37 in 2025, the authorities need to make greater efforts to investigate threats and bring such cases before the courts. These are among the findings of the European Commission’s (EC) <\/strong>2026 report<\/strong><\/a> on the Republic of Moldova, published on Wednesday, November 4. The document also highlights legislative progress in the field of press freedom, while drawing attention to the challenges that continue to affect newsrooms and journalists’ safety.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the report, the Republic of Moldova has a moderate level of preparedness in the area of freedom of expression and made good progress during the reporting period, from September 1, 2025, to September 1, 2026. The European Commission particularly highlights the extension of media ownership transparency requirements to print and online media, as well as the preparation of amendments<\/a> to the Audiovisual Media Services Code, aimed at further aligning it with the European Media Freedom Act and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the EU executive warns that political influence over the media and ownership concentration remain challenges for the country’s press.<\/p>\n

PROTECTION OF JOURNALISTS AND FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES FACED BY NEWSROOMS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The report notes certain improvements in the legal framework for the protection of journalists, including the adoption of legislation<\/a> against strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), which is due to enter into force on May 1, 2027, as well as an action plan<\/a> on journalists’ safety. However, the Commission stresses the need for further efforts to systematically investigate cases of intimidation and threats and ensure that they are consistently brought before the courts.<\/p>\n

According to the assessment, journalists mainly faced verbal abuse and online harassment, although the number of reported intimidation cases decreased. The document records 37 cases in 2025, compared with 66 the previous year.<\/p>\n

In addition to safety concerns, the European Commission draws attention to the economic vulnerabilities of the media sector. The limited advertising market, insufficient financial support mechanisms and difficulties in tackling unfair advertising practices continue to undermine the sustainability of newsrooms. According to the report, journalists’ working conditions have not improved significantly, while financial difficulties are contributing to the departure of professionals from the sector.<\/p>\n

POLITICAL INFLUENCE OVER THE MEDIA REMAINS A PROBLEM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another issue highlighted by the European Commission concerns GRT, the regional public media service provider in Gagauzia. According to the report, the institution continues to face strong political influence from the autonomy’s Executive Committee and People’s Assembly.<\/p>\n

The document also mentions reports of alleged financial links to Ilan Shor, as well as sanctions imposed by the Broadcasting Council for violations of media legislation.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the report points to difficulties faced by journalists in carrying out their professional activities in certain regions of the country, including obstacles in Gagauzia and access restrictions in the Transnistrian region.<\/p>\n

WHAT THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION RECOMMENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the coming period, the European Commission makes three main recommendations concerning freedom of expression and press freedom.<\/p>\n

The first concerns the proper implementation of the new Media Law<\/a>, including provisions on ownership transparency for print and online media outlets.<\/p>\n

The second recommendation focuses on ensuring adequate protection for journalists against intimidation and threats through thorough investigations by law enforcement authorities and the prosecution of such cases.<\/p>\n

In addition, the Commission calls for the adoption of amendments to the Audiovisual Media Services Code and its full alignment with relevant European Union legislation. According to the document, this measure is also necessary to enable the Republic of Moldova to participate in the MEDIA strand of the Creative Europe programme.<\/p>\n

The European Commission’s 2026 report on the Republic of Moldova forms part of the European Union’s annual Enlargement Package and assesses the country’s progress in the accession process. Overall, the document finds that the Republic of Moldova has continued to advance towards European integration and implement the necessary reforms, despite persistent attempts at foreign interference, hybrid threats and political polarisation. According to the assessment, the Republic of Moldova meets the conditions for opening all six clusters of negotiation chapters, four of which have already been formally opened in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Media ownership concentration and political influence over the press persist in the Republic of Moldova, while financial difficulties continue to drive many journalists out of the profession. Although the number of reported intimidation cases decreased from 66 in 2024 to 37 in 2025, the authorities need to make greater efforts to investigate threats and bring …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14636,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[112],"tags":[264,697,270],"class_list":["post-14671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-comisia-europeana-en","tag-presa-din-moldova-en","tag-ue-en"],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/media-azi.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/colaj-CE.jpg",1920,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/media-azi.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/colaj-CE-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/media-azi.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/colaj-CE-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/media-azi.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/colaj-CE-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/media-azi.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/colaj-CE-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/media-azi.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/colaj-CE-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/media-azi.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/colaj-CE.jpg",1920,1080,false],"jannah-image-small":["https:\/\/media-azi.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/colaj-CE-220x150.jpg",220,150,true],"jannah-image-large":["https:\/\/media-azi.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/colaj-CE-390x220.jpg",390,220,true],"jannah-image-post":["https:\/\/media-azi.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/colaj-CE-780x470.jpg",780,470,true],"awsm_team":["https:\/\/media-azi.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/colaj-CE-500x500.jpg",500,500,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Mihaela Ciobanu","author_link":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/author\/mciobanu\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Media ownership concentration and political influence over the press persist in the Republic of Moldova, while financial difficulties continue to drive many journalists out of the profession. Although the number of reported intimidation cases decreased from 66 in 2024 to 37 in 2025, the authorities need to make greater efforts to investigate threats and bring…","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14671"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14672,"href":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14671\/revisions\/14672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media-azi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}