The dependence of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) on the government, the problem of non-transparency of media ownership, as well as impunity for attacks on journalists are the main problems on the media scene in Serbia, according to the report Rule of Law and Media Freedom in Serbia – Shadow Report for 2024, which was prepared by the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS/NUNS) and the Italian think tank organization OBCT.

The Shadow Report states that REM’s problem is not breaking the law, but failing to enforce it.

“Without real enforcement by an independent regulator that can exercise proportional influence without the interference of the authorities, but also license holders, owners and media magnates inclined to protect their interests, such concepts will not yield tangible results,” the Shadow Report states.

It also says that REM is still refusing to grant a fifth national broadcasting license.

“Special emphasis is placed on reducing the quality control of the new conditions and criteria for issuing licenses for the provision of media services in the Rulebook, i.e. that there is no longer a minimum of 20 percent of the program dedicated to documentary, scientific-educational, cultural-artistic and children’s programs,” says the report, highlighting the fact that, in November 2023, the European Commission found that “REM failed to prove its independence in a consistent manner and to fully realize its competences when it comes to the protection of media pluralism.”

The question of media ownership is still a big problem, because it is difficult to discover the ultimate ownership, and many owners are registered through subsidiary companies, the Report says.

It states that the owners of the four private media service providers whose licenses were renewed by REM in 2022 are media magnates with ties to Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). This is reflected in their media coverage, but ultimate ownership data is not always readily available.

The Report states that the new Law on Public Information and Media, despite seemingly liberalizing language in other aspects, is quite regressive in terms of ownership and that it allows the state, through Telekom Serbia (which is the only company partially owned by the state, and which performs the activity of electronic communications), to legally and officially own media outlets.

“The problems related to the safety of journalists have nothing to do with the law, but with implementation and enforcing the laws, and that the police force and the judiciary are in a way complicit, because they allow the perpetrators to operate with a ‘policy of impunity’ thanks to the fact that they are unable or unwilling to intervene when there are threats or actual violence against journalists,” says the Report.

It notes that the acquittal for the murder of Slavko Curuvija “does not send a clear message that attacks and violations of the security and rights of journalists will not be tolerated.”

IJAS recorded 75 incidents in its database in 2024 alone. Forty-three serious incidents were recorded in the SafeJournalists database, including 31 serious threats, 8 physical attacks and 4 other threats.

Unlike the European Commission’s Report, the Shadow Report contains recommendations for each of the nine individual areas that go in the direction of further harmonizing Serbian regulations with the new European media legislative framework, but also consistent implementation of the Media Strategy and associated action plan and monitoring of the implemented activities.

The Shadow Report provides an updated and comprehensive analysis of the Serbian media landscape, pointing out not only positive steps forward but above all remaining and emerging challenges that need to be addressed.

The European Commission published its annual Rule of Law reports through which it monitors rule of law developments across the European space and provides recommendations calling on competent national authorities to promptly address and solve potential risks, said IJAS/NUNS.

This year, for the first time, the European Commission involved some candidate countries in its rule of law mechanism: the Rule of Law Reports for candidates such as Serbia will thus complement and inform the traditional Progress Reports that the European Commission usually publishes towards the end of each year, it added.

One of the four sections that compose the reports is dedicated to media freedom and pluralism and addresses a set of media-related issues ranging from the legislative framework, and public service media, to journalists’ safety and the functioning of the media market.

The IJAS/NUNS and OBCT Report are a contribution to the EU Commission Rule of Law monitoring exercise.

The full Report is available on the IJAS/NUNS website.