The international community are coming together in Bosnia and Herzegovina this June in a last-ditch attempt to save public service media (PSM) in the country.

The conference, in the offices of national broadcaster BHRT, is being organized by the EBU, BHRT, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Journalist Association, the Council of Europe, the Office of the OSCE Representative of Freedom of the Media, the European Federation of Journalists and the South East Europe Media Organization.

Urgent action needs to be taken to reform the media laws and secure adequate and sustainable funding for PSM or Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is likely to become the only country in Europe without a national public service broadcaster.

Growing political fragmentation in BiH has worked against the existence of the PSM system in its current form and the reforms to the media law that were initially envisaged have never been realized.

Against this backdrop, national broadcaster BHRT has accumulated substantial debts of around 20 million Euro over many years. Erosion of the license fee, a weak collection system and substantial payment arrears from regional broadcast partners have left BHRT at threat of imminent closure. The model for collecting the license fee in BiH - through telephone bills - expired a year ago and the Government have been unable to agree on a long term solution for funding PSM.

The collapse of PSM in BiH would have a devastating effect, not only on the media system, but on a society already split with ethnic divisions.

EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre said: "Strong PSM is the bedrock of democratic societies. We urge authorities in BiH to take urgent action to safeguard the future of PSM so it can play an active role in promoting and reinforcing democracy, fostering ethnic tolerance and ensuring social cohesion."

The conference on 13th June will provide an opportunity to bring together authorities in BiH with representatives of the media, international organizations, civil society and other experts to discuss possible solutions for the crisis and ensure proper implementation of Council of Europe and European Union standards.