National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia / Activities / Activity details
Monday, 28 July 2014
Sixth Sitting of the Culture and Information Committee
At the sitting held on 28 July, the Culture and Information Committee discussed, in principle, the Bill on Public Information and Media, Bill on Electronic Media and the Bill on Public Media Services, submitted by the Government.
The sitting was attended by Minister of Culture and Media Ivan Tasovac as representative of the submitter.
The Bill on Public Information and Media ensures the withdrawal of the state from the media, defines a transparent funding system in the sphere of public information and media ownership transparency, also defining public interest in the sphere of public information, said Minister Tasovac. In the discussion, the Committee members and MPs mainly focused on information in minority languages and regulation of transparency of the ownership structure in the media. Following a debate, the Committee members adopted the Bill on Public Information and Media, in principle.
Elaborating the Bill on Electronic Media, the Minister of Culture and Media said that it introduced new terminology and new audio-visual media services, in line with European Union directives. Tasovac stressed that the adoption of said Bill is a prerequisite for the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting. After a short debate, the Committee members adopted the Bill on Electronic Media, in principle.
The Bill on Public Media Services envisages the existence of two public media service institutions – “Radio Television of Serbia” and “Radio Television of Vojvodina”, guaranteeing their institutional, programme and economic independence, said Minister Tasovac. The TV subscription is to be abolished with the state funding the work of both public services until 2016, after which it would introduce a fee as the only manner of funding for the public services, said Tasovac. Following a short debate, the Committee members adopted the Bill on Public Media Services, in principle.
The sitting was chaired by Aleksandar Jugovic, Committee Deputy Chairman.
The Bill on Public Information and Media ensures the withdrawal of the state from the media, defines a transparent funding system in the sphere of public information and media ownership transparency, also defining public interest in the sphere of public information, said Minister Tasovac. In the discussion, the Committee members and MPs mainly focused on information in minority languages and regulation of transparency of the ownership structure in the media. Following a debate, the Committee members adopted the Bill on Public Information and Media, in principle.
Elaborating the Bill on Electronic Media, the Minister of Culture and Media said that it introduced new terminology and new audio-visual media services, in line with European Union directives. Tasovac stressed that the adoption of said Bill is a prerequisite for the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting. After a short debate, the Committee members adopted the Bill on Electronic Media, in principle.
The Bill on Public Media Services envisages the existence of two public media service institutions – “Radio Television of Serbia” and “Radio Television of Vojvodina”, guaranteeing their institutional, programme and economic independence, said Minister Tasovac. The TV subscription is to be abolished with the state funding the work of both public services until 2016, after which it would introduce a fee as the only manner of funding for the public services, said Tasovac. Following a short debate, the Committee members adopted the Bill on Public Media Services, in principle.
The sitting was chaired by Aleksandar Jugovic, Committee Deputy Chairman.