Strong criticism from civil society towards the appointment of Ioana Dogioiu as head of Public Radio: “An attack on the institution's autonomy”

Several non-governmental and non-profit organizations launched an open letter on Tuesday in which they warned that the nomination of the Government spokesperson, Ioana Dogioiu, to the Board of Directors of Public Radio raises “problems of compatibility and institutional independence”. In the opinion of ActiveWatch, the Executive's proposal of a candidate “with a dual function” at the state radio represents “an attack on the institution's autonomy”.

In addition to ActiveWatch, the letter is signed by the Center for Independent Journalism (CJI), the Center for Public Innovation, the Legal Resource Center and CeRe: the Resource Center for Public Participation.

“ActiveWatch and the CJI express their deep concern over the nomination of the spokesperson of the Government, Ioana Ene Dogioiu, to the Board of Directors of the Romanian Broadcasting Company. According to the operating law of the Romanian Broadcasting Company (SRR) and the Romanian Television Company (Law no. 41/1994), members of the Government cannot be part of the boards of directors of public media”, they draw attention NGOs.

The associations also recall the answer given by Ioana Dogioiu to HotNews' question about what will happen to her role in the government after she becomes a member of Public Radio's Board of Directors. Asked about this on Monday, she explained that before the decision was made the legal team at Victoria Palace had analyzed the legislation so that the appointment “was as fair as possible”.

Ioana Dogioiu also explained that it is possible for her to hold both positions and because it is not a Board of Directors of a commercial company, Public Radio being a public service.

“Although the position of spokesperson is not explicitly mentioned in this category, and, when asked by Hotnews, Ioana Ene Dogioiu stated that she can hold both positions, the simultaneous exercise of the role of communicator of the Government and that of administrator of the public radio service may generate a perception of incompatibility and a risk of political influence”, the NGOs write in the open letter.

They also recall that the European Media Freedom Regulation (EMFA), entered into force on August 8, 2025, requires member states to ensure the editorial and functional independence of public media (in Article 5).

Public radio, “an institution whose role is to serve the public interest and critically inform power”

Thus, the associations that sign the letter also say, the nomination of a person who continues to exercise a government function “seriously raises the issue of the independence of the public media institution: what guarantees are there that the political decisions of the government will not influence the activity of SRR?”.

“This gesture undermines the supervisory and control role of the SRR's board of directors and calls into question the institution's credibility as an independent public service, dedicated to the public interest and not to the agenda of political forces, all the more serious when it comes to the executive power. A person who speaks daily on behalf of the Government cannot, credibly, supervise a public media institution whose role is to serve the public interest and inform impartially and critically about power”, more say the organizations.

They asked the parliamentarians to reject the Government's proposal, their request coming before Tuesday's vote in the Legislature.

“We urge them (legislators, no) to respect not only the letter, but also the spirit of Law No. 41/1994, protecting the independence of the administrative boards of public media institutions. A favorable vote would represent direct complicity in the political subordination of public media”, the signatory associations concluded.

Parliament approved the new CA of SRR. The new director of the Radio will be the journalist Robert Schwartz

On Tuesday afternoon, the Parliament validated, by secret ballot, the members of the Board of Directors of the Romanian Broadcasting Company.

The new members of Public Radio's Board of Directors nominated the journalist Robert Schwartz, who for 20 years ran the Romanian-language branch of Deutsche Welle, for the position of director. He was proposed by USR for the position of director of the Romanian Broadcasting Society, according to a decision in the coalition. Parliament is the one that gives the final vote.

Who makes up the new Board of Directors of Public Radio:

• PSD: Ruxandra Ileana Săraru (holder), Radu-Bogdan Herjeu (holder) and Alexandru Ioan Șerbănescu (holder);
• GOLD: Maria Muntean (holder) and Maria Lăcrămioara Nicolescu (substitute);
• NLP: Vlad Mircea Pufu (incumbent) and Alexandra Bogdan (substitute);
• USR: Robert Cristian Schwartz (head), Alexandra Coliban (head) and Cristian-Gabriel Seidler (alternate);
• UDMR: Annamaria Bodoczi (incumbent) and Katalin Demeter (substitute);
• The President of Romania: Dragos-Gabriel Pătlăgeanu (holder) and Camelia-Tatiana Ilie (substitute);
• The Government of Romania: Nadina-Ioana Dogoiu (holder) and Daniela-Elena Sălbatecu (substitute);
• SRR staff: Marius-Dorian Tănase (incumbent), Nicoleta-Viorica Balaci (incumbent), Mihai-Ioan Miclăus (substitute) and Laurentiu-Marius Olteanu (substitute);
• Minorities: Ruxandra Georgeta Gheorghe (head) and Mirela Antoanela Petrescu (substitute).