Milenkovic: The Law on the Independent Commission aims to control the media

Marko Milenkovic from the NGO "New Social Initiative" told Kosovo Online that Serbian media and the community were not included in the drafting of the Law on the Independent Media Commission and that European values are lacking. As such, he added, this law primarily aims to control the media, media reporting, and media houses.

"There are indeed many objections, and we have heard them from various sides in the past period. The criticisms mainly pertain to the non-inclusive approach in drafting the law itself and inadequate consultations, primarily with experts, but also with the media community and media representatives who are most affected by this law. Additionally, we have had complaints about the exclusion of the minority community and the lack of European values, which have been criticized by representatives of various embassies. Specifically, the most objections are to the fact that the draft law was created without adequate consultations," he said.

He further noted that the Serbian community and media complained about not being sufficiently included in the drafting of the law, but the biggest argument is that the suggestions that came primarily from experts and media representatives were not considered at all. Therefore, this law does not have a consensus in society and does not represent the needs of media workers, media houses, or the entire community in Kosovo.

"The most objections are about the difficulties for electronic portals and media that report online or in electronic space. They will face challenges, and we still don't know what the registration of all these media will look like. We have information that media that have been operating or funded through donations and functioned as non-governmental organizations will now have to register as businesses and apply for registration. However, we still don't know what that procedure will look like, what the criteria are, whether it's just a matter of submitting documentation to be registered, or whether the commission, which will be composed and reflect some political structure from the parliament, will decide on this," Milenkovic explained.

Milenkovic emphasizes that the fines are enormous, especially for small media outlets, raising doubts about whether they can continue to operate after the passage of this law.

"It seems somewhat clear that the primary goal is the control of media, media reporting, and media houses. The fact that the commission will be chosen by the parliament, the number of commission members has increased, but the parliament can also dismiss the commission at any time if it is not satisfied with its work. This is one of the criticisms from Council of Europe experts, indicating that there will be some political control over the work of this body and that there is a desire to control the media houses themselves. We also have some articles which, if commented on individually, really delve into the problem's depth. However, some of them show us other possible intentions that may affect the operation of some media that the government in Pristina may want to control," the interlocutor explains.

He cites an example of an article concerning the control of media reporting or broadcasting content registered in other countries, which could likely hinder the work of some Serbian media and Serbian channels broadcast in Kosovo. This might facilitate the Pristina government's and the independent commission's ability to sanction these media or make their work more difficult or impossible.

Milenkovic believes that this law could certainly damage relations with the international community.

"In the past period, Kosovo has ignored the criticisms from the international community, which has somewhat damaged these relationships. It is evident that support for Kosovo has been lacking in some segments, especially regarding membership in the Council of Europe. This seems to be another step that will further complicate that path, as well as membership in other European organizations. This will certainly be included in reports that will go to the European Parliament and will impact Kosovo's European path and potential membership or candidacy for the European Union," Milenkovic states, adding that in later stages, this issue may come to the fore considering that European representatives have assessed that European values have not been taken into account.