Newsroom
OSCE welcomes hand-over of Serbian broadcasting agency premises
BELGRADE 18 December 2002
BELGRADE, 18 December 2002 - The OSCE Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) welcomed the official hand-over of the keys to the new premises of the recently established Republican Broadcasting Agency.
The keys were given yesterday by the governmental housing agency to the President of the Serbian Parliamentary Committee for Culture and Information. The Broadcasting Agency, created as a result of the Law on Broadcasting, is supported by the OSCE Mission, in co-operation with the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR).
"We are happy the Broadcasting Agency now has an office to carry out its important work," said the Acting Head of the OSCE Mission to the FRY, Mark Davison. "The OSCE and EAR have offered full support to the Broadcasting Agency, as the Agency is pivotal for the future licensing process of private electronic media in Serbia."
The joint OSCE/EAR offer of support to the Agency includes the donation of technical equipment, training of the Agency's staff as well as the drafting of internal by-laws and licensing criteria. The OSCE will also offer a permanent International Advisor to the yet to be fully appointed Broadcasting Agency Council.
"The OSCE Mission looks forward to complete implementation of the Law on Broadcasting, which includes the appointment of Council members to the Broadcasting Agency without which the Agency cannot fully carry out its important work," Davison added.
The deadline for the appointment of the Agency's eight council members expired on 25 October 2002. Whilst praising the Serbian Government for taking the step of providing the Agency with appropriate premises, the OSCE would like to stress the importance of complying with all provisions of Serbia's Broadcasting Law, in particular Article 115, which refers to the appointment of council members.
The keys were given yesterday by the governmental housing agency to the President of the Serbian Parliamentary Committee for Culture and Information. The Broadcasting Agency, created as a result of the Law on Broadcasting, is supported by the OSCE Mission, in co-operation with the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR).
"We are happy the Broadcasting Agency now has an office to carry out its important work," said the Acting Head of the OSCE Mission to the FRY, Mark Davison. "The OSCE and EAR have offered full support to the Broadcasting Agency, as the Agency is pivotal for the future licensing process of private electronic media in Serbia."
The joint OSCE/EAR offer of support to the Agency includes the donation of technical equipment, training of the Agency's staff as well as the drafting of internal by-laws and licensing criteria. The OSCE will also offer a permanent International Advisor to the yet to be fully appointed Broadcasting Agency Council.
"The OSCE Mission looks forward to complete implementation of the Law on Broadcasting, which includes the appointment of Council members to the Broadcasting Agency without which the Agency cannot fully carry out its important work," Davison added.
The deadline for the appointment of the Agency's eight council members expired on 25 October 2002. Whilst praising the Serbian Government for taking the step of providing the Agency with appropriate premises, the OSCE would like to stress the importance of complying with all provisions of Serbia's Broadcasting Law, in particular Article 115, which refers to the appointment of council members.