RTS’s answer is humiliating for the Parliament

The meeting of representatives of public services with parliamentary groups regarding one of the demands of the opposition for equal reporting was not held today because RTS requested a postponement to next week. Zoran Gavrilović from BIRODI evaluates RTS’s response to the request to hold the meeting as humiliating for the Assembly.

The participants of the parliamentary dialogue on the improvement of election conditions were supposed to hold a meeting today with the representatives of Radio and Television of Serbia, in order to discuss the manner of reporting by the public service in the upcoming election campaign. The representatives of the public service, however, asked to move the meeting to next week, stating that they are already familiar with the views of the parliamentary groups regarding RTS reporting.

The executive director of the Bureau of Social Research (BIRODI), Zoran Gavrilović, told N1 that RTS’s response was humiliating for the Parliament and that they should have provided a legal explanation why they should not come.

“I think that they should not come to that meeting for the reason that public services and any media in Serbia do not have an obligation to appear at a meeting that is simply to negotiate and discuss media conditions, that is, the application of media laws.” The only one who can do that is REM,” he states.

According to his opinion, this type of agreement between the parties and the media on how the laws will be applied is contrary to the Law on Electronic Media, and that only REM has the authority to control and supervise the application of media laws and no one else.

“The assembly has no right to that.” Perhaps it would be possible, according to the law on the National Assembly, for the assembly to create its own temporary body where there would be MPs as well as experts to make some kind of analysis. It could, but simply this negotiation, agreement on the program scheme, it is something that is against the law and the only one who can do it is REM”, Gavrilović states.

However, he adds that REM is not trusted and that we have entered the phase of de-institutionalization.

“Because of the time constraints, that is, the lack of time, the opposition is probably trying to find some intermediate solutions, that is, short-term solutions. However, these solutions undermine the legal system of this country, they destroy its integrity. I think that Mr. Lutovac submitted the initiative for the removal of REM in 2023 and that it was not discussed. We saw that when the new law on electronic media was passed, the government defended two things. One is Telekom, the other is REM. REM was given, what would be called extra time, to be there until this election process, which is important for the government, is finished. So I understand why the opposition has no confidence in REM. He is not doing his job,” said the executive director of BIRODI.

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