30 November 2022, Wednesday, 09:32 116

Rada to vote for bill On Media this week – NUJU Secretary Liamets

Редактор: Roman Vaniyan

The bill On Media will be voted for in the second reading this week.

This was reported by Secretary of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine Serhii Liamets with reference to his own sources at the Presidential Office, on NUJU’s Telegram channel.

According to the source, the bill will be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada for consideration.

"Deputies are determined to vote," the source said.

However, the interlocutor on Bankova Street [the Presidential Office] noted that the bill does not have systemic support from the Presidential Office. That is, it is rather advanced according to the procedure of the co-authors of the law, than on the initiative of the President. The co-authors are trying to take advantage of the willingness of the Servants of the People party to vote for any drafts to be accompanied by patriotic rhetoric, without going to the heart of the matter.

According to the National Union of Media Workers, the bill has been repeatedly criticized by Ukrainian journalists, the NUJU, and foreign monitoring bodies. In particular, the bill On Media received a number of critical comments from the European Federation of Journalists and the American Committee to Protect Journalists as such that it could significantly violate freedom of speech in Ukraine.

The position of the EU is that the bill should necessarily regulate the provision of audiovisual services in Ukraine, but should not introduce powerful censorship.

The MPs promised to correct the critical remarks and submit the updated bill for consideration by the public and the professional community. In particular, the co-authors of the bill Oleksandr Tkachenko (current minister) and Mykyta Poturayev (the head of the relevant parliamentary committee) have repeatedly promised to offer compromise solutions. However, there is no information about which version of the bill will be voted on.

"Tkachenko and Poturayev, including on the broadcasts of the United Telethon, only promote their advantageous option and call any criticism the actions of the Kremlin and Russia. This is an outright lie and an attempt to manipulate the public's point of view," Serhii Liamets emphasized in his comment.