EU AND COUNCIL OF EUROPE WORKING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT FREEDOM OF MEDIA IN UKRAINE

Back Joint EU-Council of Europe project conducts training on access to public information for the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine

Joint EU-Council of Europe project conducts training on access to public information for the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine

On 4 and 7 February, 2022 in Kyiv the joint project "EU and Council of Europe working together to support freedom of media in Ukraine" in cooperation with the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights held a training "Practical aspects of implementing legislation on access to public information" for the representatives of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

On the first day, the participants learned about general principles of adherence to the constitutional rights of access to information and citizens' appeals, practised to respond to information requests and mastered skills on ensuring the right of access to public information in digital formats.

On the second day of the training, Vitalii Bahur, Chief Specialist of the Department for Observance of the Access to Public Information Right of the Ombudsperson’s Secretariat, explained the concept of public information accounting system. Tetyana Oleksiyuk, Council of Europe Consultant on Access to Information, spoke about the rules for restricting access to information, and explained what should be paid special attention to while applying the three-part test. She also noted that proper compliance with the legislation on access to information, together with the use of a three-part test to restrict access to information, still remains a challenge for many administrators of public information.

“Analysis of the circumstances and finding a balance between the public interest and the necessity to keep information classified requires thorough knowledge among the responsible employees. I hope that today's training for the staff of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine gave answers to practical questions and helped to improve the quality of processing the requests to public information," she concluded.

The training was held in a hybrid format with over 80 participants.

Enhancing access to public information for the media and society is one of the priorities of the project “European Union and the Council of Europe working together to support freedom of media in Ukraine". Earlier, the Project in cooperation with the Ombudsperson’s Office developed a manual "Recommendations of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights on how to ensure the constitutional right to access to information". The Project also developed a publication in the form of an analytical review "Legal positions of the European Court of Human Rights on access to public information."

The project "The European Union and the Council of Europe work together to support freedom of media Ukraine" is aimed to enhance the role of media, its freedom and safety.

Follow the news of the project on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoEUPSIS/.

Kyiv, Ukraine 8 February 2022

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WHAT IS THE PROJECT ABOUT?

“EU and Council of Europe working together to support freedom of media in Ukraine” (hereinafter – the Project) is one of three components of the Joint Project of the European Union and the Council of Europe “EU and Council of Europe working together to strengthening protection of the human rights in Ukraine”. It is aimed to enhance the role of media, its freedom and safety, and the public broadcaster as an instrument for consensus building in the Ukrainian society according to the priorities included in the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2021 as well as EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, ratified in September 2014.

The Project addresses six main priorities:

reinforcing the Public Broadcasting system in Ukraine;
strengthening local print press outlets which undergone de-statisation reform;
safety of journalists and countering impunity of crimes against freedom of expression, in particular creation of the rapid response mechanism to ensure safety of journalists;
adoption of audiovisual legislation and strengthening capacities of the National TV and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine;
improving access to public information for media and society;
balanced and professional media coverage of elections, fighting propaganda and information disorder and providing information security of Ukraine in line with the European standards.

The Project is a continuation of the support to the ongoing reforms in the field of media after the completion of the Council of Europe Project “Strengthening Freedom of the Media, Access to Information and Reinforcing a Public Broadcasting System in Ukraine”, implemented within the period of 01 July 2018 – 31 August 2019 in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2022.

BUDGET AND TIMEFRAME OF THE PROJECT

The total budget of the media component amounts to EUR 1 268 000.

The Project is implemented by 09 April 2022.

SITUATION IN THE SPHERE OF MEDIA IN UKRAINE

Since the Euro-Maidan or the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, Ukraine has made important efforts to reflect European standards into national legal framework and practice in the fields of media, freedom of expression and information society. Major reforms have been launched and based on adoption of the legislation on public service broadcasting, transparency of media ownership, and reform of state and communal print media. The Ukrainian public broadcaster UA:PBC has been created, major strategic documents concerning its functioning adopted and its capacity strengthened. Effective mechanism of Ukraine’s co-operation with the Council of Europe Platform on Safety of Journalists was created.

Ukraine has made a visible progress in media reforms. However, the results achieved are still fragile. Further efforts are needed to ensure the sustainability of reforms.

Despite significant progress achieved so far, the UA:PBC remains seriously underfinanced and its structure needs further optimisation.

Regarding the safety of journalists, the number of physical attacks on journalists has grown in 2018, while their investigation remains largely inefficient. A narrow definition of “professional activities of a journalist” in the Criminal Code of Ukraine does not cover the journalists of electronic media, bloggers, camerapersons and other new actors, protection is another problem.

The Draft Law “On Audiovisual Services” is being prepared. The Association Agreement with the EU indicates that Ukraine committed to align its media legislation with the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive of the Agreement.

Fair, balanced and impartial media coverage of elections in Ukraine remains a serious challenge. Political advertising in and between the electoral processes and hidden advertising, abundance of fake news and propaganda, freedom of expression and ethical standards for journalists are on top of public discussions.

PROJECT’S EXPECTED RESULTS

The governance system of public broadcaster is built, it is financially sustainable and enjoys editorial independence to fulfill its role of public service media;
The reform of communal print outlets is finalized, they are strengthened and provide quality journalism at local level;
Enhanced safety of media actors as a result of guaranteed protection by law and strong nationally owned Rapid Response Mechanism for protection of media actors;
The Law “On Audiovisual Services” is adopted and implemented in line with EU AVMS Directive and the Council of Europe standards and ensures the independence of the National TV and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine;
Access to public information and transparency in operations of the information holders is ensured.
Media coverage of elections is effectively regulated and mechanisms for fighting information disorder and propaganda are introduced resulting with increased transparency of electoral process.

PROJECT’S PARTNERS

The key partners of the media component are PJSC “Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine” (UA:PBC), National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine, Parliamentary Committees on Humanitarian and Information Policy and on the Freedom of Speech, relevant ministries, the Presidential Office of Ukraine, State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, law enforcement agencies of Ukraine, Central Election Commission, educational institutions, civil society organisations working in the sphere of media, relevant professional associations etc.