Formation of the new REM Council – doomed to failure or a step towards an independent body

Regarding the importance of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM), its actual power, and the significance of this competition, journalist Nikola Trklja from "Politika" and Professor Aleksandra Krstić from the Faculty of Political Sciences spoke for RTS.

Journalist Politika Nikola Trklja stated that, based on what was observed during the recent visit of European Council President Antonio Costa, the establishment of the REM Council has become the main obstacle to continuing European integrations and the key to opening clusters.

"In a way, as the kids would say, we have flipped the game. I remember, about twenty years ago, when our journey toward the EU began, it was constantly conditioned by different types of demands. They started with the main condition – if you deliver Milošević, you are one step away from joining the EU. Then it was to deliver Mladić and Karadžić, and we eventually got to the point of changing the constitution, which became the main obstacle to making the primary step towards the EU," Trklja noted.

He added that even twenty years ago, European officials were demanding the adoption of new media laws as conditions.

"At that time, a set of laws was changed, but our experience with changing those media laws, from this perspective, was completely wrong. We were forced to adopt two media strategies. The first one implied that the state be removed from the media, which directly resulted in the closure of more than 1,000 local media outlets in Serbia. This paralyzed the media landscape in Serbia," Trklja stated.

Speaking about the formation of the new REM Council, Trklja assessed that the procedure will be formally carried out, but it is doomed to fail even before it starts.

"Because the essence has changed. What REM was established for and how it should operate is now in contradiction to what it should be," said Nikola Trklja.

Professor Krstić: REM must be independent in its operations

Professor Aleksandra Krstić from the Faculty of Political Sciences noted that REM as an institution must be independent in its operations.

"I would just like to remind you, not only because there are European officials who mentioned this, who were also involved last time in their own way, I believe, insufficiently, for example, in monitoring the previous process that was conducted from November to the end of January, but also because there are now indications that this very important opportunity, when all nine members of the REM Council are actually elected, occurs only when new media laws are adopted," said Professor Krstić.

As she stated, this has only happened once before, in 2003 when the then Republic Broadcasting Agency was formed and in 2014 when REM was first established.

How long is the term of REM Council members?

The REM Council consists of nine members elected by the National Assembly, upon the proposal of authorized proposers, whereby three members are elected for two years, three members for four years, and three members for six years.

"The new Law on Electronic Media was adopted at the end of 2023 and it stipulates much stricter conditions for both candidates and proposers. Last time, the procedure was violated at several different levels. The law was breached in that certain authorized proposers submitted documentation, and it was evident that they did not meet the conditions or that some candidates were in a conflict of interest or did not meet certain formal requirements prescribed by law. Therefore, the entire procedure last time went under the radar due to everything happening in this socially and politically very sensitive moment," said Aleksandra Krstić.

She emphasized that signals are now coming from the European Union about the importance of forming a new composition of the REM Council.

"What is now coming as a signal from the EU is that this is important, not only for opening clusters and unblocking around 150 million euros of the first tranche that Serbia will receive, but it is important to actually establish an independent functional system that will change some things compared to the previous experience of the previous REM Council that did not do its job," emphasized Professor Krstić.

Although she was among the candidates during the previous public call for members of the REM Council, Aleksandra Krstić stated that she will not be a candidate this time, even though she received calls from child protection organizations and the University of Belgrade.

"My position is not the same as it was six months ago. In the meantime, I have been appointed as the Deputy Dean for Research at the Faculty of Political Sciences in an exceptional team led by Professor Maja Kovačević, and together with my colleagues who make up that dean's team, I believe that my role is now more important for me to remain at the University, considering what is happening at the University of Belgrade and the pressures it is under. Therefore, I believe it is more important for me to stay and try to fight for the preservation of the key function of the University, which is education, and to try to resolve this extreme crisis in which the University finds itself," said Professor Krstić.

She noted that she will monitor the election of members of the new REM Council and that she believes that authorized proposers will have excellent independent candidates who will be ready to start doing their job upon appointment.

Source: RTS