Media and journalism associations have requested Minister Bratina to suspend the competition for members of the committees for project co-financing in 2027.

“We believe that in the current situation it is essential to wait for the appointment of a new Minister of Information and Telecommunications, who will, with the full mandate of the future government, take the necessary further steps in the implementation of project co-financing and, accordingly, suspend the ongoing candidate application process,” state the journalistic associations and media associations in a letter to the minister in the technical government, Boris Bratina.

As an argument for suspending the candidate applications for the commissions responsible for allocating budget funds to media in the next year, the associations cite that in previous competitions, funding was awarded to those who are record holders in violating the Journalists' Code of Ethics, including Alo and Informer, which have received over 185.3 million dinars in previous competitions, accounting for one-tenth of the total funds allocated across all competitions.

The official letter to the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications can be read below.

Subject: Request for the Suspension of Candidate Applications for Project Co-Financing Commissions for 2027

On September 30, 2026, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications invited journalistic and media associations, theorists, analysts, and practitioners in the media field to apply for registration in the Register of Candidates for Commission Members in 2027 by December 20, 2026, via the Unique Information System (JIS).

We believe that in the current situation it is essential to wait for the appointment of a new Minister of Information and Telecommunications, who will, with the full mandate of the future government, take the necessary further steps in the implementation of project co-financing and, accordingly, suspend the ongoing candidate application process.

Our argumentation is based on a harmonized proposal regarding the necessary changes in the project co-financing process for media content, which we officially sent to the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications in August of this year. We remind you that this proposal aimed to improve the project co-financing process and eliminate shortcomings in the scoring sheets for evaluating candidates for commission members and assessing projects that led to citizens' funds being allocated to media outlets that do not adhere to the Journalists' Code of Ethics of Serbia, newly established media, and those that spread propaganda.

Unfortunately, we have not received a response from the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications to this joint letter, nor to the letter sent during 2025.

This time, we officially address you in light of numerous reasoned criticisms regarding the implemented project co-financing process at all levels of government, for which the primary responsibility lies with the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, where you are at the helm in the technical mandate of the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

In this regard, we take this opportunity to remind you of the recently published findings and recommendations of the European Commission on project co-financing from the Annual Progress Report on Serbia for 2026:

“The media legislation of Serbia, last amended in June 2025, is not being implemented to a sufficient degree, including aspects concerning the fairness of public funding and the transparency of ownership structures. Media that violate the Journalists' Code of Ethics of Serbia continued to receive public funds, even though the Law on Public Information and Media stipulates adherence to ethical standards as one of the criteria for receiving such funds.

Funds were allocated at both the national and local levels even in cases where commission members for evaluation did not adhere to the scoring criteria established by sub-legal acts. Media associations continued to point out irregularities—due to which the largest amounts of funds were allocated to media close to the authorities—and even filed a criminal complaint against one mayor for violating legal criteria during the allocation of public funds…”

In the coming year, Serbia should particularly aim to: “ensure transparent and fair co-financing of media content that serves the public interest, as well as complete transparency regarding media ownership and advertising.”

During 2026, according to the currently valid criteria, many candidates for commission members were rated with the maximum of 100 points, despite numerous questionable criteria for evaluation and dubious evidence regarding the relevance of the candidates. This led to the fact that this year the largest amounts of citizens' funds were received by the tabloid publishers Alo and Informer - Alo Media System and Insajder Team along with their subsidiaries, which, according to the Press Council data, are record holders for violating the Journalists' Code of Ethics of Serbia. In previous competitions, they received a total of over 185.3 million dinars, which accounts for one-tenth of the total funds allocated across all competitions.

The commissions positively evaluated projects and proposed funding for media that were established just before the announcement of the competition and about which nothing is known, publications that did not have a legally required impressum, and it is particularly symptomatic that the largest amounts were allocated to media with questionable content quality operating within large groups.

In light of all the aforementioned examples, analyses, argumentation, and recommendations, we believe that it is necessary to suspend candidate applications for the project co-financing commissions for 2027 as soon as possible.

Belgrade, November 9, 2026

ANEM (Association of Independent Electronic Media)

Media Association

NUNS (Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia)

PU Lokal Pres

Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation

UNS (Journalists' Association of Serbia)