On 1st of January 2022, the Council of Europe launched a new Project in Chisinau in the field of Information Society - “Support for Media Pluralism and Freedom of Expression in the Republic of Moldova,” to be implemented throughout January 2022 - June 2024. The Project is funded by the voluntarily contributions of donors in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2021-2024.

Following the successful outcomes of the previous co-operation projects in the field of media and freedom of expression, the Project aims to further strengthen and build on accomplished results in the audiovisual field, as well as continuously respond to the new needs identified in the implementation course of previous co-operation activities.

To reach this objective, the Project will support the implementation of activities addressing the need for legislative reforms in the audiovisual field, capacity-building for media professionals and content diversification within the National Public Broadcaster, jointly with strengthening the access to information legal framework and its implementation in the Republic of Moldova in line with the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Public Documents (Tromsø Convention), which has entered into the force in December 2020.

The Project’s activities are structured around three components focusing on:

Component 1:  Improvement of audiovisual regulatory legal framework.

Component 2: Strengthening the capacities of media professionals and independence of the public service broadcaster.

Component 3: Implementation of audiovisual regulatory legal framework.

All Project’s activities are implemented in consultation and co-operation with relevant public authorities, national stakeholders, Council of Europe consultants, media professionals and local civil society organisations. The implementation of the Project activities involves needs assessments, legal expertise, capacity-building, awareness-raising and peer-to-peer reviews.

The main partners of the Project include the Parliamentary Committee for Mass-Media, Ministry of Justice, the Audiovisual Council, the National Public Service Broadcaster, independent media outlets and media civil society organisations.