UNS, ANEM, and Lokal Press: MIT to explain the inconsistencies in the operation of JIS and violations of the law in the area of project co-financing for media.

UNS, ANEM, and PU ''Lokal pres'' have identified numerous irregularities in the functioning of this platform and emphasize that such occurrences are unacceptable, constitute a violation of the law, and severely undermine the trust of journalists and media in an already compromised system of project co-financing for media.

In addition to the various difficulties recorded during data entry into the system (such as the disappearance of previously entered documents, the need for re-entry, etc.), there have also been gross violations of the Law on Public Information and Media in local communities.

UNS, ANEM, and PU ''Lokal pres'' request that the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications (MIT) explain to the public how these legal violations occurred. It has been noted, among other things, that some candidates for commission members have different statuses in the selection committees—some are appointed as independently registered candidates—media experts, while in other committees, they are selected as representatives of journalistic and media associations.

We remind that under the new Law on Public Information (ZJIM), it is not possible for a single candidate to be registered in the JIS both as an independent candidate and as a representative of a journalistic and media association in the same year. For example, candidate Miloš Rajković was appointed in the commissions in Obrenovac and Novi Pazar as a member of the Association of Radio Stations RAB Serbia (RAB), while in the municipality of Babušnica, he was selected as a media expert.

Miloš Rajković also stated in his biography, published on the MIT website, that he is applying as an independent candidate, while in the final list of candidates published by MIT, he is listed as a “representative of RAB.” UNS, ANEM, and PU ''Lokal pres'' call on MIT to clarify how this situation is possible, as well as under which account in the JIS Miloš Rajković is applying—personally as a media expert or as a nominee from RAB Serbia?

On the other hand, candidate Saša Кokalj marked both options in the application form, indicating whether he is applying to the JIS as an independent candidate or as a candidate of a journalistic and media association. He is listed as a media expert in the preliminary ranking by MIT, while in the first version of the final ranking list published on March 17 (which UNS, ANEM, and LP have preserved), he was stated to be a representative of the association “Media Community of Serbia,” whereas in the final list available today on the MIT website (also dated March 17), he is again listed as a “media expert.”

Кokalj was also selected for the MIT committee for project evaluation under the Competition for the Improvement of Professional and Ethical Standards and Research in the Field of Public Information in 2025, as a media expert. UNS, ANEM, and PU ''Lokal pres'' primarily question why MIT changed the data in the final ranking list published on the website without notifying the public, as well as how it is possible that the expert service of MIT did not ask Кokalj to specify and correct the improperly marked options in the application form.

UNS, ANEM, and PU ''Lokal pres'' inquire who ultimately determined whether Кokalj will be an independent candidate or a representative of the Media Community of Serbia?

UNS, ANEM, and PU ''Lokal pres'' also warn that the JIS does not provide an archive of data changes or the time of publication of specific information, leading to situations where competitions are entered into the JIS with earlier dates.

UNS, ANEM, and PU ''Lokal pres'' remind MIT that they regularly monitor the project co-financing process and can assert that data is changed and corrected without any publicly visible traces of such actions.

UNS, ANEM, and PU ''Lokal pres'' highlight that at least ten competitions have been published in the JIS, mostly dated February 28 (the last day for announcing competitions within the legal deadline), although they were actually entered into the JIS several days later.

UNS, ANEM, and PU ''Lokal pres'' remind that according to the new Law on Public Information and Media (ZJIM) (Article 31), “the project co-financing procedure is conducted exclusively through the Unified Information System.”

“The competition is announced in the form of a public call and is published on the website of the authority referred to in paragraph 1 of this article, as well as on the web portal of the Unified Information System for the implementation and monitoring of project co-financing in the field of public information,” states the ZJIM.

UNS, ANEM, and ''Lokal pres'' question how it is possible that local governments delay the publication of competitions in the JIS, even though some have announced competitions on their websites several days earlier. This leads to project and candidate application deadlines passing while the competition is published in the JIS days later.

Some local governments, such as Novi Pazar, Ražanj, and Babušnica, have adopted a Decision on the Appointment of the Commission, but as of today, it has not been published in the JIS.