Centre for Civic Education (CCE) points out that the implementation of the Media Law, in the part relating to the transparency of media financing from public sources, has still not been fully realised. Moreover, the Ministry of Culture and Media lacks either the capacity or the authority to ensure the consistent enforcement of these provisions. This is reflected in the large number of public sector bodies, as well as media founders, that fail to comply with their statutory reporting obligations, thereby undermining public oversight of the use of taxpayers’ money and the integrity of the media market. The discrepancy between the amounts reported by media outlets and those reported by public sector bodies further underscores the need to improve this system in order to ensure harmonised, accurate, and comprehensive data.
An analysis of the annual reports of the Ministry of Culture and Media for the period 2021–2024 shows that compliance with statutory obligations related to the transparency of media financing from public revenues has been uneven, both among public sector bodies and media founders. This raises an open question: why does the Ministry not take more decisive measures to ensure the full implementation of the law?
For years, CCE has been collecting these data, thereby providing valuable advocacy material for the legal regulation of monitoring public money flows towards the media, an issue that was addressed through the adoption of the Media Law in August 2020. In this segment of the legal framework, Montenegro could serve as a model for many countries in the region; however, regrettably, the application of the law has not followed.
In 2021, the first year of application of these legal provisions, public sector bodies largely ignored the obligation to submit data on funds allocated to media outlets. Out of 663 entities listed as public sector bodies, only 60, or 9%, submitted reports on which media they directed public funds to. Media founders submitted data for 75 media outlets, representing 37% of the media active at the time, according to Ministry records. This discrepancy was also reflected in the reported amounts: media outlets reported €3,987,504.92, while public sector bodies reported €3,475,473.41.
For comparison, in the same year, CCE produced its report for the last time and, pursuant to the Law on Free Access to Information, collected data from 613 out of 621 public sector bodies to which requests were sent, amounting to a response rate of 98.71%. In other words, more public sector bodies provided data to CCE for 2021 than to the competent Ministry. The CCE report recorded that 192 bodies had transfers to media outlets in 2021, totalling €3,426,183.33.
In 2022, a certain degree of progress was recorded. Data were submitted to the Ministry of Culture and Media by 62% of media founders (124 out of 201) and by 27.85% of public sector bodies (188 out of 675 entities). As expected, this again resulted in discrepancies in the reported amounts– €7,599,233.72 reported by the public sector, compared to €3,616,943.92 reported by media founders.
The highest level of reporting by public sector bodies was recorded in 2023, when 64% of entities (430 out of 675) fulfilled this obligation. At the same time, reporting by media founders declined to 56% (111 out of 198). Once again, the reported amounts were inconsistent – €7,942,101.92 according to public sector data, versus €6,149,109.33 according to data submitted by media founders.
In 2024, a new decline in reporting discipline was observed, with 62% of public sector bodies and 53% of media founders submitting data. The discrepancy in reported amounts remained significant: €8,387,570.57 (public sector) compared to €6,915,667.19 (media founders).
CCE stresses that such a situation requires more active oversight and a more effective system of sanctions; however, it appears that this segment of the Media Law’s implementation is not a priority for the competent Ministry.
Additionally, CCE considers that greater digitalisation of the process is necessary in order to facilitate easier data search and public accessibility, which would make all these financial flows more transparent.
CCE recalls that the Law prescribes sanctions for responsible persons in state administration bodies or local self-government bodies in the form of fines ranging from €300 to €2,000 if, among other things, they fail to publish records by 31 March of the current year for the previous year, or fail to submit them to the Ministry within the prescribed deadlines. At the same time, a legal entity that is a media founder may be fined between €1,000 and €8,000 if it fails to report received funds within 30 days or does not submit records to the Ministry by 31 March of the current year for the preceding year.
However, it remains unknown whether, and who, has been sanctioned to date. Alongside annual reports, the Ministry should also publish data on the enforcement of penalty provisions, as only the consistent application of the law can make transparency the rule rather than the exception—precisely the intention behind these provisions.
When it comes to standardising the entire process, in addition to a “list of non-reporting entities”, a system of automatic reminders would also be useful. It would also be advisable to explore ways to strengthen the control and sanctions system in order to encourage a greater number of entities to comply with regulations. Furthermore, more regular updating of the register of active media outlets is necessary to ensure that reporting percentages are realistic.
A more proactive and responsible approach by both media founders and public sector bodies, as well as a stronger supervisory role of the Ministry of Culture and Media, are prerequisites for more transparent media financing, responsible use of public resources, and a media market with integrity.