Marijana Camović Veličković, Nikola Tatar i Janko Ljumović were proposed as members of the Council of Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG), and Jelena Sušanj, Dragoljub Duško Vuković i Niko Martinović for the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services (SAMU), "Vijesti" learns.
The Administrative Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro is expected to determine the lists of candidates for the RTCG and Agency councils at its session on Thursday.
The previous vice-president of the RTCG Council, Camović Velicković, was nominated by 29 non-governmental organizations in the field of human rights protection, while the Confederation of Trade Unions nominated Tatar as its representative. Ljumović was nominated for membership in the RTCG Council by Matica Crnogorska.
Šušanj was nominated for SAMU membership by the PEN Center, Martinović by the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts. A group of NGOs nominated long-time journalist, editor and media analyst Vuković as a SAMU member from among media organizations.
Delay in the competition for the RTCG Council
President of the Assembly Andrija Mandic He announced a competition for SAMU members on May 13th, and two days later for members of the RTCG Council.
The Law on the National Public Broadcaster stipulates that the Speaker of the Parliament shall announce a competition for the election of new members of the RTCG Council no later than 120 days before the current members' mandate expires. Mandić should have done so back in February, as the mandates of three members of the RTCG Council expired in June.
Four-year mandates of NGO representatives have expired Amini Muric and Camović Velicković. Previously, a representative of CANU Predrag Miranović withdrew from the RTCG Council.
They were given a five-year mandate in June 2021. Filip Lazović from the Employers' Union, Veselin Drljević on behalf of NGOs in the field of media, Milica Špajak, also a representative of the civil sector and Predrag Marsenić on behalf of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee. Three-year mandates were then entrusted to Bojan Baci in front of the University of Montenegro and Naod Zorić, a candidate of NGOs and national cultural institutions.
Since that year, 2021, several members have resigned. The first to do so was Žarko Mirković, the first representative of CANU on the RTCG Council, and Miranović took his place.
Baća resigned in June 2023, ahead of a vote on a final court ruling that Boris Raonic illegally appointed in 2021. He was replaced by a professor from UCG Vladimir Drekalović...
According to regulations, the Administrative Committee of the Assembly must, within 40 days of the deadline for submitting proposals for the appointment of Council members, establish a list of candidates, present them publicly, and publish them on the Assembly's website.
Parliament has 60 days from the date the Administrative Committee submits the materials to appoint members of the Council.
The Agony of SAMU
The Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services has been in a reduced composition since December last year, because representatives of non-governmental organizations in the field of media Milan Radović and Montenegrin PEN Center Rajko Todorovic mandate expired. Although he was supposed to announce the competition in the middle of last year, Mandić did so in January of this year, but soon withdrew the invitation, explaining that he was doing so "due to a technical error." Two candidacies were submitted for the repeated competition - Vuković and Martinović, but the Administrative Board assessed them as incomplete at the end of March.
The NGO that nominated Vuković at the time announced that such a decision by the Administrative Board was "politically motivated and legally unfounded, but also a clear expression of the ruling majority's intention to capture the media sector through party politics at the cost of jeopardizing Montenegro's European path."
A few days later, a warning arrived from the Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Podgorica.
They said that it is urgently necessary to appoint new members of SAMU, in order to ensure its functioning and independence.
"For Montenegro to meet its ambitious plan to complete accession negotiations by the end of 2026 and meet the final benchmarks for the negotiation chapters on the rule of law, it is crucial to ensure the consistent implementation of all laws related to the rule of law, including the Law on Audiovisual Media Services and the Law on RTCG. This is necessary to ensure Montenegro's commitment to fundamental reforms and further progress in the accession process based on merit," the EU Delegation said.
As SAMU was not complete in June, the European Commission (EC) noted this in the latest non-paper on Montenegro's progress in chapters 23 (judiciary and fundamental rights) and 24 (justice, freedom, security).
The EC said that the efficient implementation of the new laws on audiovisual media services and the national public broadcaster in Montenegro is being slowed down by delays in the transparent and merit-based appointments of members of the SAMU and the RTCG Council.
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