A unique project of sharing experience between the media regulators of Poland and Ukraine

The audiovisual National Regulatory Authorities of Poland (KRRiT) and Ukraine (National Council of TV and Radio Broadcasting) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the media area in June 2022.

The signature of this memorandum along with the agreements reached during the bilateral meeting in Warsaw (hosted by the KRRiT in July 2022) shaped the first step of practical cooperation between the two authorities - a unique bilateral technical assistance project. The project comprised of a series of online webinars aimed at familiarizing the employees of the National Council with the experience and best practices of the KRRiT in the framework of implementation of the revised EU Directive on Audiovisual Media Services (AVMSD) and performing media regulation in the EU media area.

The topics of the webinars covered an extensive list of areas related to regulation of the media landscape, including but not limited to:

• Organisational issues and working processes;

• Strategy-related issues;

• Media market structure and analysis;

• Media ownership transparency;

• Licensing and registration of services;

• Efficient use of the radio frequency resource;

• Broadcasting monitoring practices;

• European works;

• VoD and VSP regulation;

• Advertising in the media area;

• Access for people with disabilities;

• Rules for the protection of minors;

• Research practices and activities in the audiovisual sector.

The online webinars were held from September to October. 133 employees (100 females, 33 males) out of 210 actual employees of the Ukrainian NRA gained new knowledge due to the project.

The project was elaborated, prepared and implemented extremely promptly due to the generous commitment of the Polish side, facilitating a quite important bureaucratic step, normally obligatory for such kind of international technical assistance projects.

Thanks to KRRiT’s support and bilateral cooperation, the employees of the NRA of Ukraine have access to first-hand up-to-date information and materials for the further effective implementation of the AVMSD in the national media landscape. 

This is particularly important, especially in view of the necessity to fulfil one of the seven EU requirements for Ukraine’s EU candidacy, namely, the need to bring Ukraine’s media legislation in line with European and international standards, including, the provisions of the AVMSD.

The project was fully resourced by the Polish side (including external supplies, such as professional Polish-Ukrainian translation, etc.).

 

Source: the National Council of TV and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine