About IFEX:

News by region:

IFEX Campaigns and Advocacy:

IFEX Email Products:

Opportunities and assistance:

ROMANIA MOVES TO CURB STATE INTERFERENCE IN MEDIA

The Romanian government has adopted legislative amendments aimed at discouraging official interference in the media and improving transparency, report the Open Society Institute (OSI) Justice Initiative and the Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ).

Developed in consultation with press freedom organisations and journalist associations, the amendments make it more difficult for the government to influence media coverage through the use of public advertising funds.

In a country whose media rely primarily on government-funded advertising to generate revenue, officials frequently use their influence to penalise media outlets that are overly critical by threatening to withhold advertising.

Romania has been reforming its laws in order to meet its commitments to the European Union (EU), which it hopes to join in 2007. The EU has been urging the government to bring the country's laws in line with European free expression standards. In an October 2004 report, it noted that "certain structural problems may affect the practical realisation of the [constitutional right to] freedom of expression."

Visit these links:

- OSI Justice Initiative: http://www.justiceinitiative.org/db/resource2?res_id=102722
- CIJ:
http://www.ijf-cij.org/bucharest.html
- EU Report on Romania: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/report_2004/pdf/rr_ro_2004_en.pdf
- Reporters Without Borders Report: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10092
- Committee to Protect Journalists: http://www.cpj.org/attacks04/europe04/romania.html