The EBU has written to key decision makers in Brussels to call for joint action to save Bosnian EBU Member BHRT.

In the letter, sent just a day after Bosnia and Herzegovina formally submitted their application to join the EU, EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre warns that BHRT is on the brink of collapse:

“Because of insufficient and insecure funding, its huge debts and the inability to pay its employees (BHRT) is now in total financial collapse. This completely disables its ability to operate and fulfil its role in society.”

She goes on to say that, “Public service media reflect the quality of national democratic institutions as much as they contribute to them. BHRT, the national public broadcaster, is the only media in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has the mission to reach out to the whole population to inform and entertain..... and to promote nation building and social cohesion.

“We are ready to provide professional and legal expertise and to join forces with the European Parliament and the European Commission to support the implementation of EU standards in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s media system. Urgent actions need to be undertaken to ensure the development of sustainable public service media in the country.”

The letter was sent to Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations and Ulrike Lunacek, Vice President of the European Parliament. The European Commission’s Rapporteur on Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Parliament Delegation for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo also received a copy.