The controversial bill backed by Serbian regulators this week raised fears of greater state control of the media and another setback for press freedom in the Balkan nation. Parliament approved on Thursday a law on public information and media, as well as another on electronic media. If President Aleksandar Vucic signs the laws, it would notably allow state-owned telecommunications provider Telekom Srbija to acquire media outlets, something that has been banned until now. The vote raises "fears of state influence and state pressure" on the media, the president of the European Federation of Journalists, Maya Sever, told AFP. The authorities' intention is to "legalize the role of the state... in (the) media market," opposition lawmaker Robert Kozma of the Green-Left Front party told AFP after the vote. "And that means only one thing - the spread of media obscurity," he said.
The Ministry of Information and Communications called the adoption of the two laws "an important step towards the further improvement of the media scene in Serbia." The government said earlier this month that the new laws guaranteed freedom of opinion, expression and the press "in accordance with the highest international standards".
Dominant position in the market
Telekom Srbija is the largest telecommunications operator in the country with nearly 53 percent of users, official data show. But it does not offer the independent TV channels N1 or Nova S. In May, the European Parliament voted concerned about "the dominant market position of Telekom Srbija, where the majority shareholder is the state". He also noted criticism "that the ruling party is using it to increase its influence on the media market in Serbia." By allowing Telekom Srbija to create and buy media, Serbia, which is seeking to join the European Union, has shown it still "selectively embraces European values and principles," the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) said. Opponents of Vucic, whose conservative Serbian Progressive Party dominates parliament, have accused him of relying on harsh measures to keep the opposition in chaos and the media under his thumb. From September to mid-October, Vucic occupied 39% of the top political newscasts on national television and N1, according to BIROD, a social research think tank. In its final report on Serbia's April 2022 general elections, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) noted that public media provided "uncritical" news coverage. Private television channels with national coverage "dedicate about 90 percent of news coverage to the president and government officials," it added.
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