On 3 December, the Committee of Ministers ended its supervision of the execution of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the case of Manole and Others v. the Republic of Moldova. This case concerned censorship and political control by state authorities, in the period 2001-2006, of the public broadcaster Teleradio-Moldova due to a legislative framework which lacked sufficient safeguards.
The supervision was closed following the adoption of legislative amendments to the Code of Audiovisual Media Services in 2025, introducing relevant Council of Europe standards in the national media sector. In particular, the composition of the Audiovisual Council has been reformed to include members appointed by civil society, as well as by both the parliamentary majority and opposition, with all members required to be free of political affiliation. Members can now be dismissed only under strictly defined circumstances.
The members of Teleradio-Moldova’s Supervisory Board are now appointed exclusively by the Audiovisual Council through a transparent public competition based on professional and non-political affiliation criteria. The Supervisory Board, in turn, appoints the Director General for a single seven-year term following a similar public selection procedure. Parliament is no longer involved in the appointment of either the Supervisory Board or the Director General, may no longer dismiss the Supervisory Board following the rejection of its annual report, and has no role in the dismissal of the Director General.
