In 1988...

In Romania any criticism of the Party-State is unthinkable. But praise is obligatory. This everlasting praise has to be organised and that is the primary goal of censorship.

Apart from the educational aim to develop ‘the citizens’ social awareness’, the press has to ‘foster love for the PCR and the socialist fatherland, respect for the glorious traditions of the workers’ class struggle and the struggle of the Romanian people for social justice, national freedom and progress. Read more...

In 2008...

After the fall of the Communist government of Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, a new democratic Constitution was adopted by referendum in 1991. It established a semi-presidential political system in which powers are shared between the Prime Minister and the President. Parliament has a Senate (137 seats) and a Chamber of Deputies (332 seats) and the President is elected by popular vote with a five-year mandate.

The mixed system has recently led to power struggles between the Prime Minister and President, who have accused each other of obstructing democratic reforms. In May 2007, an impeachment procedure against President Traian Basescu, initiated by Parliament under the leadership of Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, was halted by a national referendum called by President Basescu in which the population voted by 75 per cent in favour of the President. However, voter turnout was low, at about 44 per cent.

Since 2004, Romania has been a member of NATO and in January 2007 it joined the European Union.

Over the past 15 years, Romania has undergone a process of ‘making peace’ with its Communist past. It has sought reconciliation with the former royal family (ousted by the communist regime in 1947), including by returning confiscated properties, and has officially recognised and condemned the crimes committed under communism.

Romania is one of the biggest countries in Central and Eastern Europe, with a population of more than 21 million, according to the National Statistical Institute. Most of the population is ethnic Romanian (89.5 per cent), while the biggest minority groups are Hungarians (including Szecklers – 6.5 per cent) and Roma (2.5 per cent). Another 18 ethnic groups (comprising 1.5 per cent of the population) are formally recognised. The largest religious denomination is Eastern Orthodox (86.7 per cent), followed by Roman Catholic (4.7 per cent), Protestant (3.2 per cent), Greek Catholic (0.9 per cent), Evangelical (0.1 per cent), and Unitarian (0.3 per cent). Other religions, including Islam and Judaism, amount to 0.4 per cent.

Legal and Regulatory Framework

The Romanian Constitution was adopted by referendum in 1991 and amended in 2003. Articles relating to freedom of expression and information were not modified. Article 30 of the Constitution protects ‘freedom of expression of thoughts, opinions, or beliefs, and freedom of any creation, by words, in writing, in pictures, by sounds or other means of communication in public’. The article specifically prohibits ‘any censorship’. It provides for limitations on freedom of expression in order to protect the dignity and privacy of individuals, as well as in cases of defamation of the nation, incitement to violence, hatred or discrimination, territorial separatism and obscenity.

Romania’s Constitution contains a right to information. Article 31(1) of the Constitution states: ‘A person’s right of access to any information of public interest shall not be restricted’. The public authorities are bound to provide correct information to citizens on public affairs and matters of personal interest (Article 31(2)). A similar obligation is imposed on the media, be they public or private (Article 31(4)). The Constitution also states that the right to information shall not be prejudicial ‘to the measures of protection of young people or national security’ (Article 31(3)).

‘In mid-2006, partly owing to the fact that the then Minister of Justice had a human rights and NGO background, Romania completely decriminalised defamation by abrogating the two articles that dealt with ‘insult’ and ‘calumny’ in the old Penal Code’

Romania has a freedom of information law, adopted in 2001, which sets high standards, making access to information the rule and the protection of legitimate secrets the exception. Information must be released within 10 days, there is no need to demonstrate an interest when requesting information and the costs are limited to the actual photocopying costs. The scope of the freedom of information legislation was narrowed by new legislation introduced when Romania, aspiring to NATO membership, was eager to fulfil the secrecy requirements of the military alliance. For instance, the 2002 Law on Protection of Classified Information introduced the new category of ‘office secret’ and allows all entities, public or private, to protect a wide range of information at the discretion of the director of the office (workplace) concerned. On a positive note, amendments to the freedom of information law in 2006 and 2007 increased the scope of its application, to include all entities operating with public funds, including national companies registered as private entities.

In mid-2006, partly owing to the fact that the then Minister of Justice had a human rights and NGO background, Romania completely decriminalised defamation by abrogating the two articles that dealt with ‘insult’ and ‘calumny’ in the old Penal Code, Articles 205 and 206. However, in January 2007, the Constitutional Court ruled this abrogation to be unconstitutional and ordered the reintroduction of the two articles in the Penal Code. To date, Parliament has taken no measures to implement this decision but some legal experts consider the mere ruling of the Court sufficient to reinstate the relevant provisions.

In 2006, the year when there were worldwide riots after a Danish newspaper published cartoons considered offensive to Islam, a Law on the Freedom of Religion and the General Status of Denominations was adopted. It prohibited ‘Any form, means, act or action of religious defamation and antagonism, as well as publicly offending religious symbols’ (Article 13(2)). The law was promulgated despite protests by civil society and freedom of conscience activists, who were concerned that prohibiting ‘offending religious symbols’ imposes too broad a restriction on freedom of expression, a restriction that could easily be abused. Romanian law also prohibits fascist, racist and xenophobic organisations or symbols and punishes denial of the Holocaust and the promotion of cults glorifying people found guilty of crimes against peace and mankind.

Political Expression

Article 8 of the Constitution defines pluralism as a precondition and a guarantee of constitutional democracy in Romania. The Constitution protects the right of association (Article 40) and declares unconstitutional political parties that militate against political pluralism, the rule of law, or the sovereignty, integrity or independence of Romania. However, to date, no party has been ruled unconstitutional. Article 40(3) of the Constitution provides that judges of the Constitutional Court, Ombudspersons, magistrates, active members of the armed forces, police officers and other categories of civil servant shall not join political parties, and protects the right to vote and to be elected.

The law does not discriminate against minorities’ rights to freedom of expression, and the State also takes some affirmative action, for instance by providing subsidies to minority media outlets. Homosexuality was decriminalised in 2002, after the abrogation of Article 200 of the Penal Code that allowed for the imprisonment of people for having same-sex relations. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups are active in civil society, but their activities are challenged by right-wing organisations and the Orthodox Church and still arouse public disapproval and negative media coverage. Although the representation in the media of Roma and LGBT people remains problematic, the level of ‘latent racism’ in media coverage is decreasing, according to the Romanian NGO, Media Monitoring Agency.

News Media

‘While the print media boomed immediately after the fall of the Communist regime in December 1989, private broadcasters started to grow in number only after 1993. The Romanian media landscape today is crowded and, at first glance, diverse.’

While the print media boomed immediately after the fall of the Communist regime in December 1989, private broadcasters started to grow in number only after 1993. The Romanian media landscape today is crowded and, at first glance, diverse. There are more than 15 Bucharest-based daily newspapers and three or four local daily newspapers are available in major cities all over the country. There are four public television channels, and three public radio stations, plus one online service. Only the first channel of the public broadcaster fully covers Romania’s territory. Private television stations Pro TV and Antena 1 each cover 70 to 80 per cent of the country’s households, terrestrially and via cable, and Prima TV (also private) covers some 70 per cent of the territory. Cable television is increasingly important: it now reaches 79 per cent of all households – the highest level in south-eastern Europe. Subscribers can receive 25 to 40 television channels via cable. Satellite and digital television stations exist, but their reach remains insignificant at present. To date, the National Broadcast Council (the regulatory body) has released 623 radio licences and 261 television licences to private broadcasters.

The tabloid Libertatea, published by the Swiss group Ringier with a circulation of 260,000 copies daily, dominates the print media. The next largest dailies are Jurnalul National (80,000 copies, owned by the trust Intact, together with the Antena 1, 2, and 3 television stations), Evenimentul Zilei (66,000 copies, owned by Ringier), and Romania Libera (56,000 copies, Austrian and Romanian ownership). There are also a number of smaller newspapers, such as Gandul (30,000 copies, owned by Media Pro, a group including Pro TV), Ziua (22,000 copies), and Adevarul (25,000 copies, owned by Dinu Patriciu, a businessman in the oil industry).

Despite the apparent abundance of media outlets, the number of important players is relatively small and the past 10 years have seen increasing concentration, especially cross-ownership, in the media sector. Romanian legislation does not restrict cross-ownership. For instance, the major private television station Pro TV is owned by the US-based Central European Media Enterprises, which also owns the smaller stations Acasa, Pro Cinema and Pro TV International. The family of Senator Dan Voiculescu controls Antena 1, the second largest commercial station, the all-news channel Antena 3 and the niche channels Antena 2 and Euforia TV, as well as the newspapers Jurnalul National and Gazeta Sporturilor (a high circulation sports newspaper), Saptamina Financiara (a business weekly) and Radio Romantic. A third player, businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vantu, owns Realitatea TV (the first all-news channel, with a small audience but a significant agenda-setting influence), two newspapers, one weekly newspaper, a news agency, online information services, and several business publications.

New Technologies

About 26 per cent of Romanians (approximately 5.5 out of 21.5 million) use the Internet daily or at least weekly, and the Internet access rate is growing rapidly. According to estimates by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the number of users will reach seven million in 2007 (32.6 per cent of the population). Large discrepancies remain between urban and rural areas. In the capital Bucharest, Internet penetration is already 60 per cent, according to a study by the company Ericsson. Other figures show that connection rates are much higher in private households and businesses than in the public or educational sectors. Of roughly one million broadband Internet connections at the end of 2006, 84 per cent belonged to household users, 15.6 per cent to companies and just 0.4 per cent to public administration and educational establishments, according to a study commissioned by Cisco Romania.

The Minister for Communications and IT, Zsolt Nagy, has stated that there are currently 18 million mobile phone users in Romania (84.7 per cent of the population), and it is not uncommon for a person to have several mobile devices from various operators. Electronic communications form one of the most dynamic sectors of the Romanian economy, generating nine per cent of the GDP in 2005.

Repression of Media Workers

No Romanian journalists are currently in jail because of their work. Serious assaults against journalists are rare, but there have been cases of media professionals being harassed or attacked in the line of duty, mostly by the people whose activities they were investigating. According to the Freedom of the Press Report for 2006, released by the Media Monitoring Agency, the number of such incidents rose in 2006 compared with 2005.

The most prominent case involved journalists of the newspapers Ziua and Romania Libera who came into possession of a CD containing sensitive information on Romanian troops in Afghanistan. Even though the newspapers did not publish the information or report it, and gave the CD to the police, they were accused of handling classified information and were the subject of a criminal investigation. One journalist was detained with what appeared to be excessive use of force, their houses and offices were searched, and the computers in their newsrooms were seized and ‘cloned’. Although the law clearly states that the protection of classified information is the sole responsibility of authorised personnel, two journalists (Marian Garleanu and Sorin Oancea) are currently still under criminal investigation.

In a separate case, the Foreign Ministry asked an Internet Service Provider (ISP) company to shut down a website that mocked the Ministry’s own website. The authors of the mock website, two journalists, wanted to criticise what they saw as poor performance and chaos within the Ministry. The ISP closed down the site without any investigation or consideration of the impact on freedom of expression.

While such incidents are worrying, attacks on the news media and journalists by State authorities are not widespread or consistent. Rather, together with the fact that they do not prompt a public outcry, they demonstrate that freedom of expression is not yet highly valued by society.

Media Censorship

‘Censorship is prohibited in Romania and there are no institutions authorised to check editorial materials prior to publication. Nevertheless, in recent years there have been some attempts by the government to influence the editorial content of the media, especially television channels, both public
and private.’

Censorship is prohibited in Romania and there are no institutions authorised to check editorial materials prior to publication. Nevertheless, in recent years there have been some attempts by the government to influence the editorial content of the media, especially television channels, both public and private. Allegedly, influence has been exerted either directly (via telephone) or indirectly, via owners who are affiliated to the same economic or political interest group, or by using financial pressures, such as preferential collection of taxes or awards of public advertising contracts. After 2004, the government took some measures to counter financial influence over the media – for example, the attribution of State contracts was subject to transparency and accountability mechanisms by law – but the media are still not operating in an environment completely free from political or commercial pressure.

In 2006, the distribution of two publications was stopped. In Tirgu Mures, the police seized the entire daily print-run of the Hungarian-language newspaper Európai Idö, which included a proclamation by a radical group calling for the creation of an autonomous Hungarian territorial entity in Romania. According to the police, the print-run was confiscated ‘for examination’, although taking a few copies would have been sufficient for this purpose. In a separate case, the private distribution company Rodipet failed to disseminate an issue of the Saptamina Financiara business weekly as it included an investigation of Rodipet’s management. The company claimed that it was not distributed because it was a national holiday. These cases are sporadic rather than systematic.

Currently, the main concern in this area is the influence media owners exercise over editorial policies, in order to advance their business or political agendas.

Art Censorship

Romania has a vibrant artistic life, with both traditional and alternative forms thriving. There are no reported cases of art censorship in recent years. During festivities to mark Europe Day in Cluj in 2004, the popular rock group Luna Amara was forced to leave the stage after the organiser of the event decided to cut off the sound while the group was singing; their lyrics contained anti-government messages. On 1 December 2003, the same group had been refused payment by the mayor of the city of Alba Iulia for their performance for ‘National Day’. He reportedly claimed the group ‘incited young people to leave the country’.