Although the Government says that it hopes to close four chapters in the negotiations with the European Union (EU) by the end of the year, there is a possibility that one of them, chapter 10 (IT society and media), will not be "crossed out" because the Parliament did not appoint, nor it can do that until 2025, the new members of the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services - learned unofficially "Vijesti".
According to the newspaper's information, European Commission (EC) officials asked the Government why this did not happen, saying, as they have done many times before, that all institutions should work at full capacity.
However, the source of "Vijesti" from Brussels said that he had no information that the closing of the media chapter could be blocked, reminding that the discussions about the so-called common positions for four ongoing chapters on the working bodies of the Council of the EU.
"Vijesti" expects an answer from the EU Delegation in Podgorica to the question of whether Montenegro will have a problem closing Chapter 2024 by the end of 10, due to the non-election of two members of the Council of the Agency.
To representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from the field of media Milan Radović and Montenegrin PEN Center Rajko Todorovic, the mandate in the Council lasts until December, so he is the head of the parliament Andrija Mandic had to advertise for the appointment of their "successors" at the latest half a year ago. Since he has not done so, new members cannot be appointed.
Mandić did not answer the questions of "Vijesti" why he did not announce a public invitation, when he plans to do so, and by when new members can be expected to be appointed. The proposal of the list of candidates for members is determined by the Administrative Board of the Assembly, and it appoints them.
The Agency is a regulatory body that, among other things, issues approvals for broadcasting and distribution through electronic communication networks, keeps a register of broadcasters and supervises them, while its Council approves plans for the distribution of radio frequencies, announces tenders for the allocation of broadcasting rights, makes decisions on granting that right...
The Council has five members (one of whom is elected as the president), and they are candidates: universities, NGOs dealing with the protection of human rights and freedoms, NGOs in the field of media, the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Montenegrin PEN Center, and the Bar Association of Montenegro Above.
With the adoption of the Law on Audiovisual Media Services, which this summer "replaced" the Law on Electronic Media, the conditions for proposing candidates for members of the Council of the Agency from NGOs have been tightened, thus excluding the possibility that existed until then - that the Administrative Board chooses who will be included on list of candidates.
According to the newly approved act (Article 150), an NGO can be a proposer if, among other things, in the previous three years before the publication of the advertisement, the annual budget for the implementation of activities in the field in which it proposes a candidate was not less than 3.000 euros, and if in the same period at least 2.000 euros were spent during one year for the implementation of activities in the aforementioned area.
If, as written in the law (Article 157), NGOs submit several separate proposals, the list determined by the Administrative Board must include the candidate who has the support of the largest number of organizations that meet the prescribed conditions. This was not the case, according to the act that was valid until June (when the Agency was called the Agency for Electronic Media).
The NGOs have repeatedly called on Mandić and the Assembly to start the process of electing Radović's successor, judging that if this does not happen, suspicions will be raised that political games are involved.
Reminding that the head of the parliament had to advertise six months ago, the director of the Media Center Goran Đurović he said in mid-November that if this procedure is not started "immediately", there is a possibility that the chapter 10 closure will not be allowed.
"Also, if the procedure for appointing a new member of the Council of the Agency is not started immediately, there is room for suspicion that there are political reasons for violating the law. The media center will inform the EU Delegation about this problem in the application of the media law," he said.
The government expects that, in addition to chapter 10, Montenegro will "redraw" chapters 7 (intellectual property rights), 20 (entrepreneurship and industrial policy) and 31 (foreign, security and defense policy).
The procedure for their closure entered the phase of consideration by working groups in the Council of the EU. As explained by the Government earlier, the process is initially in the hands of the Working Group for Enlargement and Accession Negotiations (COELA), and after it completes its work, its proposal to determine the so-called common positions will be forwarded to the Committee of Permanent Representatives of Member States (COREPER). The final decision is taken by the Council of the EU, in which the unanimous support of all members is required for the chapters to be closed.
The commission praised the new law
In the report for Montenegro published this fall, the European Commission stated that Podgorica has reached "a good level of preparedness in the field of digital transformation and media".
"Very good progress was achieved with the adoption of the Law on Audiovisual Media Services, as part of a comprehensive package of media reform, and the adoption of the Law on Electronic Communications, which is harmonized with the European Code of Electronic Communications. With this law, Montenegro harmonized its legislation with the acquis of the EU regarding the provisions on the independence of the national regulatory body for electronic communications," the report says.
It is also stated that the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services has been given legal powers to impose fines.
The commission recommended that in 2025, Montenegro adopts and implements the Law on Information Security, fully aligned with European directives, to maintain good results in the introduction of EU acquis in the field of electronic communications and audiovisual media services, and to continue with additional employment in order to fill remaining planned jobs, "which would further strengthen administrative capacities in the field of electronic communications, information society services and audiovisual media services".
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