National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting

The EU acquis (Article 30 of the AVMS Directive 2018/1808, the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and others) establishes high standards for creating and guaranteeing the independent and effective functioning of the media regulator. The state must ensure that the regulatory oversight body is transparent, impartial, and diverse, and guarantee its independence. Independence is assured by procedures for appointing and removing members, appropriate funding scope, and the necessary powers to perform functions. The effectiveness of functioning must be achieved through the availability of proper technical and expert support. 

Text as of March 2026

Drawing from research and human rights practices, we can identify the following issues in the media regulator’s activities in Ukraine:

  1. Independent financial support for the media regulator at the state level and limited funding for its activities during the state budget process pose a direct threat to its independence.
  2. The legislatively set remuneration level for the media regulator’s members and officials, as specified in Article 78 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Media,” is not defined due to restrictions in the State Budget. This creates a conflict between sectoral legislation and budget regulations.
  3. Disregarding the independence guarantees outlined in the Law of Ukraine “On the Media” and their inadequate enforcement in practice.
  4. The process for appointing National Council members, as outlined in the Constitution, is burdensome for the regulator’s operations and cannot be modified during martial law.
  5. Regulator’s acts will require mandatory state registration because of the conflict between the Law of Ukraine “On the Media” and the Law of Ukraine “On Law-Making Activities.” The latter law will come into effect a year after martial law is lifted, which could hinder the regulator’s ability to perform its functions effectively and diminish its independence. This provision makes decisions dependent on the executive authority’s decisions and directly contradicts the EU acquis, especially Article 30 of Directive 2018/1808.
  6. The ability to block the regulator’s activities or dismiss certain members through a “vote of no confidence” initiated by the president and parliament—as appointing authorities—under parts 1 of Article 10, 2 of Article 11, and 4 of Article 12 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law”—threatens the body’s independence.

What Ukraine needs to do during its accession to the EU to improve the situation:

  • Ensure adequate funding for the remuneration and operation of the National Council for 2027 and subsequent years, in accordance with Article 78 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Media.”
  • Remove the requirement for mandatory application of the procedure for state registration of regulatory acts adopted by independent regulators in the media sector.
  • Make amendments to Ukraine’s Constitution to enhance the independence of the National Council, specifically concerning its name and the appointment process for members, once martial law is lifted.
  • Amend part 1 of Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” to eliminate the option of using the so-called “vote of no confidence” procedure against the National Council by the appointing authorities.
  • It is advisable to adopt draft law No. 12111, now prepared for second reading in parliament, as it enhances the independence of the regulator. It is also crucial to accelerate work on the draft law implementing the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which is being carried out by the working group within the Verkhovna Rada Committee on humanitarian and information policy.
  • The National Council must develop and adopt its activity strategy and a corresponding action plan for the following period by the end of 2026.

For a more detailed overview of the EU and Ukraine’s acquis and case law, along with our justification for the recommendations, please see the research on this page. Specifically, see the document available only in Ukrainian: National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting. If you have any feedback or comments about this material, please send them to: hrmap@ccl.org.ua.

Published materials may be used provided that a mandatory link to the original source is included. © 2026 Center For Civil Liberties.

Experts

Picture of Tetiana Avdieieva

Tetiana Avdieieva

Senior lawyer of the Digital Security Lab, expert of the Expert Committee on Artificial Intelligence under the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine