Update
Who controls Serbia’s media: a map of the six dominant...
Serbia’s media landscape is not defined by many competing voices, but by a handful of owners w...
Following the resignation of four independent members on 19 December 2025, the REM Council was left with only four members - all considered close to the authorities. On 29 December, the Committee on Culture and Information decided to publish a new public call for candidates to fill the four vacant seats, representing nominators from journalists' associations, associations of film, performing arts and dramatic artists and composers, associations promoting freedom of expression, and associations focused on children's rights. The call was published in the Official Gazette on 3 January 2026, with a deadline of 18 January.
No candidates came forward by the deadline. On 19 January 2026, the Committee annulled the decision to initiate the process.
The result is a regulator that cannot function. With only four members, the REM Council cannot reach the quorum of five required to hold a session and make decisions. It cannot elect a president, which requires a two-thirds majority of six members. It cannot fulfill its legal mandate to oversee broadcasters, enforce broadcasting rules, or issue sanctions against television stations that violate them - including those with national frequencies that reach the entire country.
Serbia has been without a functioning media regulator since November 2024. Two full selection processes have been conducted and have failed. A third attempt to fill vacant seats attracted no candidates at all. In the meantime, national broadcasters operate without oversight during a period of acute political crisis, and the legal framework that was meant to protect media pluralism and the public interest exists in name only.
The result is a regulator that cannot function.
No candidates came forward by the deadline. On 19 January 2026, the Committee annulled the decision to initiate the process.
The result is a regulator that cannot function. With only four members, the REM Council cannot reach the quorum of five required to hold a session and make decisions. It cannot elect a president, which requires a two-thirds majority of six members. It cannot fulfill its legal mandate to oversee broadcasters, enforce broadcasting rules, or issue sanctions against television stations that violate them - including those with national frequencies that reach the entire country.
Serbia has been without a functioning media regulator since November 2024. Two full selection processes have been conducted and have failed. A third attempt to fill vacant seats attracted no candidates at all. In the meantime, national broadcasters operate without oversight during a period of acute political crisis, and the legal framework that was meant to protect media pluralism and the public interest exists in name only.
