{"id":"SRB-075","notes":"STRUCTURAL ENABLER — Stage 6. Legislative capture of media regulatory framework — the laws that govern media operations, licensing, and public service broadcasting. Establishes the legal infrastructure within which N1 capture (SRB-CAMP-013) and Kurir/state media (SRB-CAMP-012) operate. PATTERN: two cycles documented — January 2022 (first capture attempt, Coalition submits independent draft) → December 2024 (second cycle, minister bypasses working group entirely). Escalating methodology: 2022 = GONGO capture of working group; 2024 = minister imposes draft bypassing the group altogether. Cross-ref SRB-063 (October 2023 media law enabling Telekom ownership) — sequential legislative enablers building toward N1 capture. EU pre-accession funding used as justification for rushed process — EU leverage weaponized to bypass proper consultation. Consultation capture methodology: same as SRB-074 (FOI Law) — both use working groups composed of regime-aligned actors. TC-49 added: ministerial bypass of working group on Law on Public Media Services weakens independent regulatory framework — part of the legislative architecture that reduces REM accountability and enables paralysis without legal consequence.","country":"Serbia","sources":[{"url":null,"citation":"Coalition for Media Freedom December 17 2024 statement; Coalition for Media Freedom January 17 2022 independent draft submission (documents first cycle of same pattern); CINGO Second Report September 2025 (corroborates media law concerns); NKEU November 27 2025 statement on media law working groups (primary source documenting GONGO composition and civil society exclusion)"}],"summary":"Minister of Information Dejan Ristić bypasses two-month working group process and imposes draft Law on Public Media Services — extending beyond the working group's framework and containing serious omissions contradicting Serbia's Media Strategy. Coalition for Media Freedom: government \"rendered the media law amendment process meaningless.\" Three media laws under simultaneous amendment: Law on Public Media Services, Law on Electronic Media, Law on Public Information. Process context: amendments rushed to fulfil Reform Agenda commitments and access EU pre-accession funds — EU leverage weaponized to justify rushed, captured process. Working group capture: Ministry excluded largest journalists' associations, including IJAS — one of the two largest in Serbia — including instead organizations \"under the control of the regime.\" IJAS only included following protest. Context: Coalition for Media Freedom had submitted independent draft Law on Public Information and Media to Ministry in January 2022, after working group was captured by GONGO organizations proposing solutions not aligned with Media Strategy. This is the second cycle of media law capture within three years. Cross-ref SRB-063 (October 2023 media law amendments enabling Telekom/state media ownership) — same legislative capture methodology, same ministry, escalating progression. NKEU DOCUMENTATION (November 27, 2025): National Convention on EU condemns Ministry of Information working group formation. Ministry issued call November 19 2025 for working groups to draft EMFA-aligned media legislation and new Media Strategy 2026-2030. GONGO composition confirmed: invitations sent primarily to government-affiliated organizations; independent civil society organizations experienced in media freedom, human rights, digital policy largely excluded. NKEU: \"Such selective participation undermines the basic principle of inclusiveness and clearly indicates an intention to transform the working groups into a formal, but not substantively participatory, mechanism.\" Additional problems: no baseline analysis, no problem assessment, no public consultation before working groups formed; REM Council still vacant/illegitimate at time of media reform announcement — \"proceeding with key reforms without a functional REM is nothing short of institutional simulation.\" NKEU: \"Without these steps, the announced reforms amount to nothing more than a simulation of EU integration.\"","tactics":[{"code":"TC-18","role":"primary","label":"Legislative Operationalization","needs_review":false},{"code":"TC-49","role":"secondary","label":"Regulatory Body Deliberate Paralysis","needs_review":false}],"version":1,"channels":["Official/Regulatory"],"entities":[{"id":979,"name":"Ministry of Information; Minister Dejan Ristić; Government of Serbia; GONGO organizations in working groups","role":"actor","entity_type":"Government Official"},{"id":980,"name":"Independent media; Coalition for Media Freedom; Independent Journalists Association of Serbia (IJAS); media pluralism","role":"target","entity_type":"Sector"}],"date_text":"17/12/2024","created_at":"2026-09-24T17:50:55.358311+00:00","escalation":6,"harm_track":"Track 1 — Legal/Administrative","narratives":[{"code":"NF-09","role":"primary","label":"Political Interference","needs_review":false},{"code":"NF-07","role":"secondary","label":"Democratic Mandate Attack","needs_review":false}],"report_ids":[],"signal_ids":["SIG-SRB-075"],"updated_at":"2026-09-24T17:50:55.358311+00:00","occurred_on":"2024-12-17","campaign_ids":["SRB-CAMP-013"],"enabler_type":"Legislative Framework","response_ids":[],"trigger_type":"TR-01: External Political Event","campaign_phase":"Stage 6: Structural Enabler","civic_response":"Coalition for Media Freedom condemns process December 2024; IJAS protests exclusion — included only after protest; Coalition submits independent law draft January 2022 (first cycle counter-response)","date_precision":"day","enabler_status":"Active","campaigns_served":["SRB-CAMP-011","SRB-CAMP-012","SRB-CAMP-013"],"consequence_category":"Legal/Administrative","institutional_consequence":"Law on Public Media Services imposed bypassing independent media input; three key media laws amended under captured process; independent journalists excluded from working groups; GONGO organizations shape media regulatory framework"}