“We urgently call on authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to act immediately to prevent the collapse of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS),” it was stated in the joint EU-OHR-OSCE-UK-US statement.
The PBS should play a critical role in upholding democratic principles, fostering informed citizenship, and promoting the free flow of information. However, years of political interference and financial mismanagement have pushed the PBS to the brink of insolvency, jeopardizing its ability to serve the public interest. This poses a grave threat to media pluralism and democratic discourse.
Failure to implement the BiH Law on the PBS has allowed political pressure, partisan, and ethnonationalist agendas to compromise the editorial independence of the PBS, further eroding trust in its ability to provide unbiased and impartial information.
Finding a sustainable solution for financing the PBS is a key priority on the EU path, is embedded in the relevant OSCE commitments, but is also one of the prerequisites for the integration and functioning of the system as a whole and as such needs to be urgently addressed. In parallel, authorities in BiH must support efforts to make the PBS fit for purpose in a modern digital environment. The proper functioning of the PBS is not only a matter of media freedom but also proof of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s commitment to democratic values and the rule of law, it was stated in the joint EU-OHR-OSCE-UK-US statement.
