Ensuring the financial sustainability of public broadcasting services in Bosnia and Herzegovina (including all three public broadcasters – BHRT, RTVFBiH and RTRS) is part of 14 key priorities from the Opinion of the European Commission on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s request for membership in the European Union. However, no progress has been made in fulfilling this priority and the current situation with public broadcasters in BiH, especially when it comes to BHRT, is challenging, the Delegation of the European Union in BiH announced.
The latest Report of the European Commission on Bosnia and Herzegovina from November 2023 emphasizes that BHRT is still seriously threatened with closure, after several years of denial of stable funding due to the non-implementation of the Law on Public Broadcasting System from 2003 and protracted disputes before entity courts regarding RTRS’ substantial debts according to BHRT. The above represents a serious threat to the financial independence and sustainability of the public RTV system, and BiH is at risk of becoming the only country in Europe without a public RTV service at the state level, according to the response of the EU Delegation to BHRT.
The EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina called on public broadcasters to solve their internal problems, and encouraged all competent authorities to act quickly in an effort to enable the implementation of an effective and enforceable model of financing public RTV service, which will be in accordance with the Law on Public RTV Service. Such a model should ensure a cost-effective, independent and reliable public broadcasting system, which works in the best interest of the citizens who pay for it.
In order to help BHRT in facing the challenges that this broadcaster is facing, the EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina recently financed the creation of an independent financial assessment and analysis as a basis on which further solutions can be sought.
In addition to solving the financing issue, it is necessary for the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to complete the overall reform of the public RTV system, which will also include the harmonization of the relevant entity legislation on broadcasting with the law at the state level and ensure the political neutrality of the governing boards, according to the statement of the Delegation of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
