Journalistic and media associations: The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications should immediately publish the biographies of candidates for committee members.
Journalistic and media associations are requesting the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications to immediately publish the biographies of all candidates for members of the commissions for media competitions listed on the published preliminary list, in order to make the process of project co-financing for media content and the distribution of the budget amounting to over 15 million euros in 2026 more transparent.
The Ministry yesterday announced the preliminary scoring list of candidates, which includes 112 names, and provided a five-day deadline for any objections before the final list of candidates, who will be eligible to apply for project evaluation committees in 2026, is adopted and published.
The list was published with a delay of three weeks, as it was supposed to be updated by December 31, 2025, according to the Regulation on Co-financing Projects for Achieving Public Interest in the Field of Public Information.
Journalistic and media associations (Association of Independent Electronic Media – ANEM, Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia – NUNS, Journalists' Association of Serbia – UNS, Media Association, and Local Press) point out that it is problematic that only the candidates themselves can submit objections to the preliminary scoring list, and only if they notice that they have not been adequately scored by the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications based on the documentation they submitted.
By preventing the interested public, media, and journalistic organizations from accessing the biographies and submitting objections regarding the scores of individual candidates, the transparency of the scoring process for individuals who will decide on the distribution of the state budget across all levels of government is compromised.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications plans to publish the biographies only after the final list is adopted, at which point it will no longer be possible to make changes based on potentially identified irregularities.
The selection of candidates for committee members is one of the most significant processes in the area of project co-financing, considering that they are to evaluate media projects and propose the distribution of the state budget at the local, provincial, and national levels. It is of utmost importance that this is done by truly qualified, professional, incorruptible individuals of integrity.
The assessments made by committee members affect citizens' information on topics of public interest, the development of media pluralism, and the overall survival and development of media in Serbia.
For this reason, the undersigned associations and organizations demand that all submitted biographies be published immediately so that the entire process is under public scrutiny, as is customary in democratic societies for such significant activities carried out under the auspices of state institutions.
Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)
Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS)
Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS)
Media Association
Local Press
The project of the Association of Independent Electronic Media “Participatory Monitoring of the Implementation of Project Co-financing Processes” is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the MATRA program. ANEM is solely responsible for the content, which does not necessarily reflect the official views of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
