23. 08. 2002

Unpopular measure at EU’s behest

BELGRADE, 23.8.2002 – Deputy Serbian Prime Minister Zarko Korac has announced the introduction of a television subscription of 210 Yugoslav dinars monthly., saying that he is aware that this will be “a very unpopular measure.” “We wanted to avoid this. However, the European Union’s position is very clear: if state television is a service for citizens, then they must finance it.” Korac added that in majority of countries subscriptions are paid through the power bill. Today’s edition of the Belgrade Danas daily stresses that one of the ruling coalition’s pre-election promises was to scrap the subscription, and that in the final months of the Milosevic regime DOS called for civil disobedience which, among other things, meant not paying television subscriptions.