15. 07. 2013

ANEM ON DRAFT ACTION PLAN ACCOMPANYING THE ANTI-CORRUPTION STRATEGY

The Ministry of Justice and Public Administration released on its website the draft Action Plan for implementing the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2013-2018, making it available for all interested parties to comment on it by July 20, 2013. In addition, the Ministry organized public discussion of this document, on July 15, 2013 in Belgrade.

Considering the fight against corruption one of the priorities for the progress of the society, ANEM was involved in the public discussion of this document, with its written comments submitted to the Ministry on July 12, 2013, and also by participating in this event in Belgrade.

In its written comments, ANEM has dealt with the Draft Action Plan in the part related to the priority area 3.9. - MEDIA. In general comments and suggestions, ANEM has pointed out that some of the measures and activities related to the media are not in compliance with the Media Strategy, particularly with the planned adoption of the media law, which makes it necessary either to remove or to reformulate some of the measures, so that these two strategic documents would be aligned with each other. In concrete suggestions, ANEM stated the following:

a) for the measure 3.9.1.1, pertinent to the harmonization of regulations governing media concentration and transparency of media ownership with those of the EU, which foresee the activity of establishing proposed laws that regulate public information and electronic media within 6 months of the Action Plan entering into force, as well as forming of a Working Group consisted of representatives of various ministries and Anti-Corruption Agency - ANEM deems it unnecessary, because it has almost been accomplished, given that the Working Group of the Ministry of Culture and Media was formed late last year and has already completed drafts of both laws, to be adopted well before the deadlines provided for in the Action Plan;

b) as for the measure 3.9.1.2, which provides for the establishment and regular updating of a public database/record of media (their ownership structures) - ANEM notes that the Register of media already exists and that it is kept by the Business Registers Agency, while the Draft Law on Public Information and Media foresees a series of new provisions on the register, prepared in cooperation with the Business Registers Agency and largely in line with the Media Strategy; that it is also unclear whether this measure involves the forming of yet another register, in which case its purpose is not understandable, given that all relevant information has already been fed to the existing Register;

c) as for the measure 3.9.1.3, providing for adoption of the Amendments to the Law on Public Enterprises, with the aim to prohibit commercial advertising and sponsorship for public companies and legal entities in which the state has a share, but which have a monopoly - ANEM deems that this measure should be reformulated so as not to be directed at prohibiting advertising, which would be in conflict with the Advertising Law, but rather to prescribe prohibition of any form of direct funding of media by any public company or other organizations that are funded from public sources, but permitting advertising under the terms and in the manner prescribed in the Advertising Law; also, it would be good to introduce mechanisms to control the adherence to the advertising rules, in order to prevent favoring of certain media while advertising public companies;

d) as for the measure 3.9.1.4, which refers to the harmonization of provisions of national legislation providing for the funding of certain media by the state, at all levels of government, with the EU acquis - ANEM notes that, since the existing set of laws, including media laws, whose adoption is pending, is regulating this issue in line with the EU acquis, this measure should be reworded so that it refers not to the alignment, but to the consistent application of the existing rules on state aid control in the media sphere as well, at all levels of government; also, strengthening the capacity of the Commission for State Aid Control should be introduced as a specific measure.

All these written comments were elaborated by the representative of ANEM at the public discussion in Belgrade, also suggesting that ANEM recommendations be taken into account during the formulation of the final draft of the Action Plan, as well as consultations be made with the ministry relevant for the media.