Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych announced that local journalists would receive pass cards granting them access to the City Council building, which they can currently enter by prior arrangement only. Earlier, the regional Institute of Mass Information representative Kateryna Sereda had addressed Senkevych, suggesting he consider this solution.
Mykolaiv media workers have been having issues accessing the City Council building for at least a year and a half. According to the rules that were de-facto introduced in May 2024, journalists can only attend City Council events if they are on the list of approved reporters, and only escorted by press office representatives. Journalists have repeatedly stressed that these regulations violate the law “On Information”, namely Article 25, which stipulates that a journalist has the right to freely visit the headquarters of state bodies and public events hosted by them. On 26 July 2024, the police opened a probe into obstruction of professional reporting, namely by denying access to media workers, following IMI’s reporting. However, the Mykolaiv police found no corpus delicti in the case and closed it a few months later.
The news website MykVisti prepared and submitted proposals for the draft integrity plan which is now being reviewed by the City Council, concerning unhindered access to the building for journalists and the openness of the Mykolaiv City Council.
In late October, IMI representative Kateryna Sereda addressed Oleksandr Senkevych directly with a request to provide journalists from officially registered media outlets with pass cards to the City Council building and premises, but received no clear answer, with the Mayor promising to consider the possibility.
In early December, Senkevych announced in a comment to MykVisti that journalists would be given access to the City Council on personal pass system.
“We must not forget that we are working in wartime. There are many people in this building. There are rules for the operation of such institutions, and we must develop them until they are logical and legal,” the Mayor said.
Andriy Volkov, the Mykolaiv City Council executive committee chair, told IMI that journalists with local news outlets would receive personal permanent pass cards to the City Council. Regulations would also be developed for journalists with national media who may need temporary access to the City Council.
“We are preparing amendments to the decree regulating visits to the building by citizens, other officials, and journalists. Overall, we have accepted the criticism that has been coming from the media, and the decree will be finalised. This week we met with our media department, we are preparing a draft for further internal discussion, and then we will coordinate these amendments with the media, and then introducing it into our regulations,” Andriy Volkov said.
He hopes that the amendments will be approved by the next City Council session, which is scheduled for 11 December.
Earlier, Oleh Derenyuha, who runs the online news outlet MykVisti, was invited to a meeting of the Mykolaiv City Council commission on legality and transparency that was supposed to discuss the City Council’s integrity, but the City Council security refused to let him into the building.