The Romanian Trade Union of Journalists MediaSind — the national organization representing media workers — has taken note with deep concern of the publication in the Official Gazette of the Emergency Ordinance on reducing personnel expenditure in the public sector by 10%, a legislative act that fails to exempt public media institutions despite repeated requests from professional and trade union organizations in the field.
The refusal of the Government led by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan to exempt the Romanian Television Society (SRTv), the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company (SRR), and the National News Agency AGERPRES, alongside the Culture sector, confirms an attitude of disregard and systematic neglect of the constitutional and democratic role of public service media.
For years, these institutions have operated under conditions of chronic underfunding, outdated technical infrastructure, severe staff shortages, and precarious working conditions. Despite these constraints, professionals within SRR, SRTv, and AGERPRES have continued to ensure accurate public information and the fulfillment of their public service mission.
The application of uniform budget cuts to public media services constitutes a serious, direct, and disproportionate interference in the functioning of institutions that are fundamental to democracy and the rule of law, effectively undermining their capacity to carry out their public mission.
Public service media form an integral part of the cultural and creative industries sector. Excluding them from the exemption regime granted to the Culture sector represents an arbitrary institutional discrimination, lacking legal justification and contrary to European practices aimed at protecting media pluralism.
Direct breach of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA)
The adoption of this measure places Romania in a position of violating the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/1083 on media freedom (European Media Freedom Act — EMFA), a legal instrument that is directly applicable and binding in all Member States.
EMFA obliges Member States to ensure that public service media providers benefit from:
effective editorial independence
adequate, stable, and predictable funding
protection against political or economic pressure
the real capacity to fulfil their public service mission
The forced reduction of human resources, in the context of already existing chronic underfunding, constitutes a form of economic pressure incompatible with European standards on press freedom and the independence of public media.
Impact on fundamental rights
Such a measure also represents an indirect interference with:
freedom of expression
the public’s right to information
media pluralism
rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Romania, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Serious legal and institutional consequences
Adoption of the Emergency Ordinance in its current form generates serious legal risks for the Romanian state, including:
-the initiation of infringement proceedings for non-compliance with EU law
-the referral of the matter to the European Commission, the European Parliament, and European bodies responsible for monitoring media freedom
-the initiation of legal actions at national and European levels
-the outbreak of collective labour disputes and protest actions, including a general strike in the media sector
The Romanian Trade Union of Journalists MediaSind, together with the Federation FAIR-MediaSind Culture and Mass-Media the Confederation CNSLR-Frăția, and the International Federation of Journalists and European Federation of Journalists, will activate all available trade union, legal, and institutional mechanisms at national and international level to defend: the rights of media workers, the independence of public service media, media pluralism end the rule of law.
Responsibility for the destabilization of public media institutions and for any potential European sanctions that may be imposed on Romania lies entirely with the Government led by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
Executive Bureau
Romanian Trade Union of Journalists MediaSind
Bucharest, 26 February 2026
