OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Agency for Electronic Media hold roundtable discussion on electronic media law

The implementation of the Law on Electronic Media and possible amendments were discussed at a roundtable event held on 12 December 2012 in Podgorica.

The event was organized as part of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro’s support for the improvement and implementation of the media legislative framework and served  to initiate discussion about the legislative framework for broadcasting media. Particular attention was given to the impact of the Law on the overall media situation in Montenegro and its alignment with international standards.

International expert Sandra Bašič Hrvatin presented her comments to the current Law on Electronic Media and Jadranka Vojvodić, Deputy Director of the Agency for Electronic Media, presented the agency’s experience with implementing the law. Participants included representatives of the Government, the Agency for Electronic Media, the Agency for Electronic Communications, the Broadcasting Centre, civil society, public-service broadcasting and electronic media.

“The current Law on Electronic Media is to a large extent aligned with international standards. However, there are several areas in which the law could be improved,” said the Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission, Waldemar Figaj, at the opening of the event, adding that the political and financial independence of the regulator for electronic media should be strengthened.

Deputy Minister of Culture Željko Rutović said that the media should act in the public interest and thus contribute to protection of human rights. “It is necessary to strengthen the principles of self regulation, and respect for ethics and professional standards should be further improved,” said Rutović.