13. 10. 2012

Minister: Media as important as Kosovo

Belgrade, October 13, 2012. (Vecernje Novosti) - Interview with Bratislav Petkovic, Minister of Culture and Media,

Will the Media Strategy, adopted by the previous Government, be changed?

- The Strategy will not be changed; it will just be further developed. Drafts of the prepared media laws will be reviewed again before the public debate is open.

The state's withdrawal from the media is envisaged within a year and a half. Do you accept this and how will it be implemented?

- The goal is to bring a set of media laws by March 2013. They will provide for the freedom and independence of the media in accordance with the European standards as well as transparency of ownership. This issue is as important for the EU as the issue of Kosovo.

If there are no private investors, how will the state withdraw the media?

- There'll be. There might be foreign investors. However, the option that the state owns some media is not excluded.  The point is to avoid concentration of ownership, so that the same people could own more than half of the media scene. A new way of funding public service broadcasting must be found. Croatia has found a good solution - if you do not pay subscription fee, you will not be able to register the car. Collection rate is 98 percent.

The situation in media is assessed as chaotic - starting from the markets, property rights to  professional principles. Apart from legal changes, can some other measures be expected and when?

- We are obliged to finish the five media laws in order to receive the date of the start of negotiations with the EU. Drafts of these laws have already been prepared and they now need to be harmonized technically and legally. Allegations that laws are prepared in the Presidents' are incorrect. All media associations will be involved in the public debate. I expect the Government will decide on these proposals by the end of this year.