Moldova: Shadow Report on the State of Media Freedom in the Country

With the contribution of ActiveWatch and Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa, the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) has published a shadow report examining the state of the art of media freedom in the Republic of Moldova against the backdrop of the EU enlargement processes.

In June 2024, the EU began accession talks with Moldova. A 2025 EU report rated Moldova’s freedom of expression readiness as "moderate," citing progress on access to information, media subsidies, and journalist protections, but noting ongoing issues like media ownership concentration, political interference, and intimidation of journalists—plus the need to ensure anti-disinformation measures comply with EU standards.

Against this background, and based on the recommendations identified by the European Commission, this Shadow Report contextualizes and analyzes the systematic challenges and institutional responses that Moldova faced throughout 2025 and the first half of 2026. It identifies five main issues, namely: developments within the legal and institutional framework; the safety of journalists and the institutional response to attacks, including online and offline safety, risks during elections and protests, and specific risks faced by journalists covering Gagauzia and the Transnistrian region; SLAPPs and other forms of legal pressure; access to information of public interest; foreign information manipulation and interference, national security, and restrictions on media activity.

To be sure, 2025 has marked a crucial year for Moldova’s press freedom, as it both faced significant obstacles during the 2025 electoral campaign, such as foreign information manipulation and sustained political polarization, as well as an accelerated set of legal and institutional reforms in line with EU standards, which resulted in a more pluralistic media ecosystem. Ultimately, this process constituted a contested transition in which stronger regulation and public support for journalism coexisted with weak safeguards, uneven enforcement, and new forms of pressure.