On July 10, an expert discussion on the part of the draft law “On Media” 2693-d on the legal status of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine (hereinafter - the National Council) and the co-regulation mechanism was held.

It is worth reminding that at the beginning of July the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine registered the draft law #2693-d which is revised version of the draft law "On Media" registered in December 2019. The first version has been heatedly discussed in public; the authors received many suggestions and comments. Thus, it was decided to improve the draft taking into account the suggestions and comments of national and international experts.

The authorts of the updated version of the draft law "On Media" have improved the procedure for exercising control and supervision in the field of media and improved the procedures and powers of the regulator in terms of imposing sanctions on entities in the field of media. The norms on co-regulation in the field of media were also amended: the subject of co-regulation was clarified and the procedure for establishing a co-regulatory body was specified.

Mykyta Poturayev, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, noted that the draft law contains a clear list of restrictions that are already reflected in the current legislation and do not pose a threat to censorship or pressure on the media.

Olga Herasymyuk, the Head of the National Council, noted that the draft law is the result of a serious compromise between all stakeholders. "The most disputable part of the draft law is the establishment of an independent, competent and effective regulator and the creation of mechanisms to protect the interests of the media in relations with it," said Ms. Herasymyuk.

Olena Lytvynenko, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, recalled the findings of a thorough Institutional Mapping Analysis in Sphere of Information Policy and Media in Ukraine, which was carried out by Council of Europe experts. One of the key recommendations is the adoption of a draft law that should define how to make the National Council a fully independent regulatory body. It is important to improve the procedure for appointing members, which would avoid any political involvement in the appointment process in order to ensure that the members of the Council do not represent political interests. It is necessary to support the creation of an effective system of sanctions, which allows for a more flexible, gradual and proportionate response to violations.

"The adoption of draft law 2693-d will be one of the important steps towards Ukraine's fulfilment of its international obligations, including those related to the harmonization of media legislation with the Council of Europe standards, as well as its harmonization with the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which will contribute to Ukraine's implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU," Olena Lytvynenko said.

Hanna Litvishchenko, Head of the Legal Department of the National Council, noted in her presentation that the new powers of the regulator, which are mentioned in the draft law, include:

• supervision and control over compliance with the requirements for access to information on events of significant public interest;
• supervision and control over compliance with the requirements for accounting and storage of programs and copies of print media;
• supervision and control over compliance with the language requirements of print and online media;
• supervision and control over compliance with restrictions on the content of information and requirements for source data.

It is important to emphasize that Ukraine has an international obligation to implement into national law the provisions of Directive (EU) 2018/1808 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 amending Directive 2010/13/EU, i.e. to consolidate at the level of the law an updated set of legal norms in the field of audiovisual media, which would meet European standards and modern level of technological development, simplify state regulation of the industry, define efficient and modern principles of consumer protection, as well as legal mechanisms for determining and restriction of harmful content. This is stated in the explanatory note to the draft law.

The event was organized by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine in cooperation with the Project “EU and Council of Europe working together to support freedom of media in Ukraine” and the CSO "Human Rights Platform".