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OSCE welcomes Serbian Government's approval of draft Law on Broadcasting
BELGRADE 5 April 2002
BELGRADE, 5 April 2002 - The OSCE Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) welcomes the approval of the draft Law on Broadcasting and the decision of the Serbian Government to pass it immediately to Parliament, asking for it to be examined according to an urgent procedure. The draft Law is supported by the OSCE and the Council of Europe.
"The proposed reform of the broadcasting system will pave the way for what relevant international organizations expect, will be a fair and transparent process of allocation of licenses and frequencies, in line with the expectations of all media operators and the civil society", said Stefano Sannino, Head of the OSCE Mission to the FRY. "This is why the OSCE hopes that the Serbian Parliament will decide to quickly examine and approve the draft law, without substantial changes".
He added that the OSCE Mission was of the opinion that the draft Law met internationally accepted standards and principles, in particular since it establishes, for the first time ever in Serbia, an independent Regulatory Body, the 'Agency for Broadcasting'. This will, among other things, enable the transformation of RTS into a true Public Broadcasting Service, he said.
"The OSCE is ready to further co-operate with the authorities on the implementation of the future Broadcasting Law, in particular with regard to the setting up of this Regulatory Body", Mr. Sannino stated.
The OSCE, while praising the work of the expert working group headed by Rade Veljanovski, is also pleased with the fact that Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and Deputy Prime Minister Zarko Korac have played the decisive role necessary to achieve this result.
Mr. Sannino also encouraged the Serbian Government to quickly approve the draft Law on Telecommunications, so that it can be passed by the Parliament together with the one on Broadcasting.
"The proposed reform of the broadcasting system will pave the way for what relevant international organizations expect, will be a fair and transparent process of allocation of licenses and frequencies, in line with the expectations of all media operators and the civil society", said Stefano Sannino, Head of the OSCE Mission to the FRY. "This is why the OSCE hopes that the Serbian Parliament will decide to quickly examine and approve the draft law, without substantial changes".
He added that the OSCE Mission was of the opinion that the draft Law met internationally accepted standards and principles, in particular since it establishes, for the first time ever in Serbia, an independent Regulatory Body, the 'Agency for Broadcasting'. This will, among other things, enable the transformation of RTS into a true Public Broadcasting Service, he said.
"The OSCE is ready to further co-operate with the authorities on the implementation of the future Broadcasting Law, in particular with regard to the setting up of this Regulatory Body", Mr. Sannino stated.
The OSCE, while praising the work of the expert working group headed by Rade Veljanovski, is also pleased with the fact that Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and Deputy Prime Minister Zarko Korac have played the decisive role necessary to achieve this result.
Mr. Sannino also encouraged the Serbian Government to quickly approve the draft Law on Telecommunications, so that it can be passed by the Parliament together with the one on Broadcasting.