Montenegrin MPs have appointed Marijana Camović Veličković, Janko Ljumović, and Nikola Tatar as members of the Council of Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG). Their appointment was supported by 55 MPs, with one voting against and one abstaining.

According to Vijesti, the Parliament did not support the proposal of the Administrative Committee to appoint Dragoljub Duško Vuković—nominated by several NGOs—and Niko Martinović—proposed by the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts (CANU)—to the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services (SAMU).

Out of a total of 56 MPs, only 12 voted in favor of the proposal, while the remaining 44 abstained.

Since December of last year, the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services has been operating with a reduced composition, as the mandates of NGO media representatives Milan Radović and Rajko Todorović from the Montenegrin PEN Center expired. Although a public call was supposed to be announced in mid-2023, Mandić issued it in January this year, only to withdraw it shortly afterward, citing a “technical error.” A renewed call resulted in two candidacies—Vuković and Martinović—but at the end of March, the Administrative Committee deemed them incomplete.

The NGOs that had nominated Vuković stated that the Committee’s decision was “politically motivated and legally unfounded, but also a clear indication of the ruling majority’s intention to capture the media sector for party interests, even at the cost of jeopardizing Montenegro’s European path.”

A few days later, a warning came from the Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Podgorica.

They emphasized the urgent need to appoint new SAMU members to ensure its functioning and independence.

“For Montenegro to meet its ambitious goal of completing accession negotiations by the end of 2026 and to fulfill the final benchmarks in the rule of law chapters, it is essential to ensure the consistent implementation of all rule-of-law-related laws, including the Law on Audiovisual Media Services and the Law on RTCG. This is necessary to guarantee Montenegro’s commitment to fundamental reforms and further progress in a merit-based accession process,” stated the EU Delegation.

As SAMU was still incomplete in June, the European Commission (EC) noted this in its latest informal document (non-paper) regarding Montenegro’s progress in Chapters 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and 24 (Justice, Freedom, Security).

The EC pointed out that the effective implementation of new laws on audiovisual media services and on the national public broadcaster in Montenegro is being hindered by delays in transparent, merit-based appointments to the SAMU and the RTCG Council.