Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek has rejected claims by Sandra Benčić of Možemo! that Croatia is breaching European rules on media freedom. She stated that Croatia participated in the adoption of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and that it has been verified whether Croatian laws comply with EMFA rules.
Benčić announced that she would report Croatia to the European Commission for breaching European rules. She claims the Act is not being respected because a new HRT Act has not yet been adopted, and that the HRT director-general is selected based on political criteria. Obuljen Koržinek responded: "There is no question of a breach of EU law in the case of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and its application in Croatia".
The minister reminded that the Croatian Parliament adopted a law in March aligning Croatian regulations with those parts of the European regulation that had not previously been covered by domestic laws. She added that Croatia, like other European Union member states, conducted extensive consultations and verified the alignment of its regulations with European rules.
Speaking about appointments at HRT, Obuljen Koržinek said that the appointment and dismissal of HRT governing bodies are precisely regulated by the legislation of the Republic of Croatia and are carried out transparently through clearly defined steps. She emphasised that the HRT director-general is elected through a public tender to which anyone meeting the legal conditions can apply. Candidates present their work programmes and plans for HRT development, and according to the minister, they are assessed based on their work programmes and HRT management. "The decision is therefore not made without clear justification, but precisely on the basis of the assessment of the submitted programmes," she stated. She described this programme as the "only substantive, merit-based and comparative criterion" for selecting the director. She claims that this method of selection derives from Article 5 of the European Media Freedom Act and that Croatian legislation is fully aligned with European rules in this regard.
The minister announced that amendments to the HRT Act will further regulate the reasons for which the mandate of the director-general and other members of governing bodies may be terminated prematurely. She noted that the announced amendments will cover the need for additional regulation of reasons for the premature termination of the mandate of the director-general and other members of governing bodies. Additional procedural protection will also be considered, including the right to be heard, the obligation to provide written justification, and effective legal protection mechanisms. The financing of public media services will also be considered. According to the minister, the aim is to ensure a stable method of financing that would enable quality work and long-term programme planning.
She also addressed Sandra Benčić's statement that certain media outlets receive operating licences after a meeting with the prime minister. Obuljen Koržinek claims that N1 Hrvatska's previous owner, the company Adria News, never requested a licence to operate a specialised news television channel in Croatia, nor was N1 registered as a media outlet. According to her, Adria News operated in Croatia as a production house, while it was registered as a publisher in Luxembourg. "The new owner decided to request an operating permit, which the Media Council approved, making N1 equal to all other media outlets, and journalists and editors gained status equal to all other editorial teams, which will help protect their journalistic and labour rights," Obuljen Koržinek said.
