A group of NGOs provided information to Sattler regarding obstruction of law enforcement and blockade of the work of AMU

Media Center, Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN-CG), Human Rights Action (HRA), Media Institute of Montenegro (IMCG), Center for Civic Education (CCE), Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro, Media Union of Montenegro and Montenegrin PEN Center today submitted information to the Head of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Montenegro, Johan Sattler, regarding the obstruction of the implementation of the Law on Audiovisual Media Services in the Parliament of Montenegro and the blockade of the work of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services (AMU).

As stated in the joint statement of these non-governmental organizations (NGOs), they, as authorized proposers, informed Satler in detail about the cancellation of the public call for two members of the Agency Council by the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Mandić, "for which he has not provided convincing arguments to date."

"We recall that the adoption of the Law on Audiovisual Media Services was one of the conditions for obtaining a positive IBAR, as well as for the temporary closure of Chapter 10 - Information Society and Media. Given that the second final benchmark under Chapter 10 relates to the functional and independent work of the regulatory body for electronic media, namely the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services, it is clear that the actions of the President of the Parliament and the Administrative Board pose a serious risk to the reopening of this chapter," the statement reads.

They pointed out that Mandić and the Assembly's Administrative Committee are continuously obstructing the implementation of that law, "including postponing the announcement of the competition for almost half a year, as well as this cancellation due to an alleged 'technical error that could have caused confusion' on the last day of the competition."

They recalled that two candidates from the non-governmental sector applied for the competition - Dragoljub Vuković, who had the support of 14 NGOs, and Nikola Vujanović, with the support of one NGO.

"Also, the Montenegrin PEN Center nominated a representative for the second vacant position on the Council. So, there was no confusion, but it seems that some planned candidates failed to gain credible support and dropped out, which further led to open politically motivated obstruction of the process," the statement said.

They said that the direct consequence of this action by the President of the Parliament is that the Agency Council today has only three out of five members, "which means that everyone must be present at all sessions and make unanimous decisions in order for the Agency to function."

"In addition, the implementation of the new process for the election of two members will take at least two months, during which time the Agency will be non-functional. We have appealed to the Head of the EU Delegation to use his authority and remind the leadership of the Parliament of Montenegro that the implementation of this law is part of the negotiation process and to support the efforts of NGOs to ensure the smooth operation of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services," the statement reads.

The statement was signed by:

Goran Đurović - Media Center,

Milka Tadić Mijović - Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN-CG),

Tea Gorjanc Prelević - Human Rights Action (HRA),

Olivera Nikolić - Media Institute of Montenegro (IMCG),

Daliborka Uljarević - Center for Civic Education (CCE),

Mila Radulović - Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro,

Radomir Krackovic - Media Union of Montenegro,

Adnan Čirgić - Montenegrin PEN Center