The right to reply will be given after the applicant’s written request is examined, specifies a bill to amend the Broadcasting Code that was adopted by Parliament in first reading, Info-Prim Neo reports. Corina Fusu, chairwoman of the commission on culture, education, research, sport and mass media, said the legislative initiative is designed to remove a discrepancy between the Broadcasting Code and the law on the right to expression adopted later. Under the Broadcasting Code, the right to reply is given after the applicant submits an application to the broadcaster, while the law on the freedom of expression sets a term for examining the application. “In accordance with the amendment, the applicant will file the application, asking the broadcaster for the right to reply, within 20 days of the airing of the program to which the application refers. The broadcaster will provide an answer in the same program, within the same period of time and with the same length, during 15 days of the examination of the preliminary application. If the program where the information was disseminated is broadcast rarer than once in 15 days, the answer will be given in the next program,” said Corina Fusu. According to her, if the program is removed from the broadcast schedule, the answer will be provided within the same period of time during at most 15 days of the examination of the application. The bill was passed in first reading in the July 5 sitting.