Đurović: The question of the legality of all procedures carried out by the AMU Council is being raised

Media Center Director Goran Đurović said that after the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) determined that the President of the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services, Branko Bošković, violated the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, the question of the legality of all procedures carried out by the Council, including the dismissal of the former director of the Agency, has been raised.

"The decision of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) that Branko Bošković was unlawfully appointed to the position of President of the Council of the Agency for AVM Services four years ago further deepens the problem of the functioning of this institution.". As ASK determined after four years, Bošković violated the Law on the Prevention of Corruption at the session of the Council of the Agency for AVM Services on June 21, 2021, by voting for his own election to the position of President of the Council. It is unclear why ASK took four years to determine what was clear to everyone in June 2021. The Law on Audiovisual Services also stipulates that a member of the Council must be exempted from voting in situations where his interest is being decided," the statement reads.

He says that Bošković must have known this, because at the session itself, the members of the Agency Council received a legal interpretation from the competent service.

"The legality of the procedure was of no interest to Council member Edin Koljenović or the then member of this body Boris Raonić. The extent to which the entire procedure was deliberately and illegally conducted is also demonstrated by the fact that the election of the president of the Agency's Council was carried out under the 'miscellaneous' item and without a secret ballot, as the procedure requires. At the Council session, the majority of members, led by Boris Raonić, elected a new president without any explanation, even though the mandate of the then Council president Ranko Vujović lasted another month. The illegal actions of three Council members then enabled Branko Bošković to assume the position of president of this body. If respect for the law could not be expected from Council members Edin Koljenović and Boris Raonić, it was nevertheless expected from university professor Bošković. The aim of the illegal takeover of the Agency was to trade with political parties that later helped Boris Raonić to be illegally elected as the general director of RTCG. What were the costs incurred by the Agency based on "The extent of the illegal president's official trips and other activities remains to be seen. It also raises the question of the legality of all the procedures carried out by the Council, including the dismissal of the former director of the Agency," says Đurović.

The question arises, as he said, who will now convene the sessions of the Council, which has three members out of a total of five, as prescribed by law.

"This essentially means that the Council cannot do its job, because the sessions are scheduled by the President of the Council. As a second-instance body that decides on complaints from broadcasters and other persons, the Council cannot function. Andrija Mandić, Milojko Spajić, Milan Knežević, Aleksa Bečić, Ervin Ibrahimović, Nik Đeljošaj, Vladimir Joković should answer how the financial plan for the next year will be adopted, as well as other acts important for the work of this institution," said Đurović.

He said that the parliamentary majority, led by Andrija Mandić, has been "blocking the election of two new members of the Agency Council for 15 months now" because they are "aware of the fact that by electing new members they would no longer have political influence over this Agency", which is the key regulator of the electronic media market.

"If the parliamentary majority again obstructs the implementation of the law and does not elect two new members of the Council during December (a representative of an NGO in the field of media and a representative of the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences), the Agency will be completely out of function," said the director of the Media Center.

He reminds that the process of appointing two new members of the Council is underway and that the candidates' documentation should be submitted to the Assembly by December 11th.

"The extent to which the process of appointing new members is obstructed by the parliamentary majority is also demonstrated by the call by PES MP Jelena Nedović for NGOs to change candidates because they do not like the current candidate of active NGOs in the media field. The parliamentary majority is seeking a controlled representative of the so-called NGOs who will listen to the orders of political parties," claims Đurović.

He points out that the appointment of two members of the Agency's Council is an obligation that was also mentioned in the European Commission's Report, "but that obviously means nothing to the parliamentary majority, because it did not elect the judges of the Constitutional Court either, and that was also requested by the European Commission."

Đurović points out that the Council and the Agency have very important responsibilities in regulating the media market.

"The Agency is responsible for granting and revoking broadcasting licenses, taking sanctions against media outlets when they spread hatred, inciting discrimination, and is responsible for prohibiting the rebroadcasting of content from broadcasters from neighboring countries when they violate legal regulations. One of the new competencies that will soon be added to the Agency is the coordination of preventing the spread of illegal content on social networks and other platforms within the framework of the implementation of the Law on Digital Services, a European Union regulation. That is why the European Union has requested that a new law be passed that increases the autonomy of the Agency's Council and its independence from political parties. It remains to be seen whether the parliamentary majority will formally put the key in the lock of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services and whether it will be ready to relinquish political control under pressure from the European Commission and NGOs," the statement reads.