OSCE Mission to Serbia supports consultations on the implementation of new media laws

As part of its support to the implementation of media reform, the OSCE Mission to Serbia, together with the Ministry of Culture and Information and the EU Delegation to Serbia, organized consultations between the relevant stakeholders and the authorities on 28 November in Arandjelovac.

The consultations come as  the Ministry of Culture is passing a set of bylaws for the implementation the new Law on Public Information and Media, the Law on Electronic Media, and the Law on Public Service Media. These three laws were adopted in August 2014.

Ambassador Peter Burkhard, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia underlined that this is a crucial moment in media reform in Serbia. “We are certain that a turbulent year for the media industry is ahead of us,” said Ambassador Burkhard. “It therefore requires careful co-ordination of all actors – state bodies and professional organizations,” he added.

The reform entails parallel withdrawal of the State from media ownership, the digitalization of television and a new system of public information financing. The Ministry of Culture and Information is leading this complex process in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, and a number of state agencies and regulatory bodies. 

Participants from journalists’ and media associations, trade union and media throughout Serbia entered into a dynamic exchange with the authorities on details of implementing media reform. The preservation of information of public interest at the local level was particularly discussed.

The conclusions from the Arandjelovac consultations will be forwarded to the authorities and stakeholders, while a new forward-oriented Media Strategy will be based on the assessment of achievements and challenges in implementing the ongoing media reform.