Civil society groups, political opposition and independent media organisations in Serbia are sounding the alarm over proposed changes to media laws that will increase the state’s already strong grip on access to news and information, reads an article by the director of the Balkan Free Media Initiative, Antoinette Nikolova.

Serbia’s Ministry of Information and Telecommunications announced the proposed changes to the Law on Public Information and Media and the Law on Electronic Media, which were adopted on Thursday by the Serbian Parliament, reads the article posted on the EUractiv portal.

Global media freedom NGOs including Reporters Without Borders, Article-19 and Balkan Free Media Initiative have joined Serbian journalist associations in raising concerns that the adoption of these changes would block much-needed reforms of Serbia’s Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) and pave the way for the return to full state ownership of private media.

“The proposed laws would lift the current restrictions on state-owned entities to become media owners and holders of media licences,” reads the article.

It said a group of opposition parties denounced the law in a statement released on Monday, calling the draft Law on Public Information and the Media the “first openly revisionist law which restores state ownership in the media and runs counter to modern European standards”.

“The statement says the law turns the state-owned Telekom Serbia into ‘the centre of the future state media-propaganda machine,’ reads the article.

It says that the Serbian state has been ignoring the criticisms of the changes, “as it seeks to cement its control of media ahead of snap elections in December.”

“Serbia’s abuse of media ownership recently hit the headlines after Kosovo banned sports channel Arena Sports, owned by Serbian state telecom Telekom Srbija, for broadcasting a video message glorifying the recent attacks by Serbian paramilitaries in Kosovo that left a policeman dead,” it says.

The article notes that Telekom’s ownership of Arena Sports is illegal under current Serbian law.

“However, this will change if the proposed laws are adopted, opening the door to further state-controlled broadcasts,” it says and, citing N1, adds that “at the start of October, United Media, which owns some of the last remaining independent news channels in Serbia, launched a legal action against Telekom Srbija demanding that ‘all program broadcasting licenses issued in violation of the law’ be rescinded.”

It explains that it is not illegal under EU law for states to own media outlets but it is rare for states to own media service providers.

“In the context of Serbia, state interference in the media is becoming increasingly common and media freedom is declining rapidly, according to international observers. In RSF’s 2023 World Press Freedom Index, Serbia experienced the greatest drop in rating in the region of the European Union (EU) and Balkans, falling 12 places,” reads the article.

The 2023 European Parliament Report for Serbia highlighted that the governing majority has undermined media freedom, while at the same time, the country has become a “safe haven” for Russian companies spreading disinformation, including Russia Today.

The same report raises concerns about the state financing of Telekom Srbija, which it says “gives the company an unfair competitive advantage and contributes to the declining condition of the independent media in Serbia”.

European Union observers are closely following the attempted implementation of the draft laws, especially as they contradict the “Strategy for Development of the Public Information System in the Republic of Serbia”.

This strategy was agreed upon by the government and representatives of media organizations and civil society and endorsed by the EU in 2020.

Media freedom organisations could not be clearer that this is a step back for Serbia.

A statement – coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU member states and candidate countries – warns that “the new laws undermine national and international confidence in the Media Strategy and pose serious questions for the government’s commitment to improving media freedom and pluralism as part of its potential accession to the European Union.”