BELGRADE – A group of civil society organisations and media associations from Serbia stated on 20 May that they are concerned about the potential sale of the last independent media outlets in Serbia to Alpac Capital, adding that this would represent a direct and inevitable threat to media freedoms in Serbia and the Western Balkans.
In a joint statement, the organizations said that, as advocates of media freedom, they are deeply alarmed by reports that United Group is preparing to sell Adria News Network (ANN), including televisions N1 and Nova S, weekly Radar and daily Danas, along with around a dozen other media outlets across the Western Balkans, to the fund European Future Media Investment, managed by the Portuguese investment company Alpac Capital.
If these reports prove to be true, the organisations believe that this transaction could represent one of the most significant threats with far-reaching consequences for media pluralism in Europe in recent history.
The group of NGOs and media associations assessed that this would place some of the last editorially independent television news broadcasters, daily newspapers, and online media platforms in Serbia under the control of a company whose existing media investments have been marked by documented accusations of censorship, political interference, and the erosion of editorial standards.
The NGOs and media associations called on Luxembourg’s media regulator to carry out the strictest possible assessment of Alpac Capital’s suitability as the owner of independent media, fully taking into account the company’s previous experience with Euronews, the proven role of Hungarian state capital in previous acquisitions, and the personal ties between the company’s management and political authorities in Serbia.
They also called on European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and the European Commission to make it clear that transferring the country’s last independent media outlets to a buyer with proven ties to state-captured media would have consequences for Serbia’s European Union accession process.
The group of organizations called on BC Partners and United Group to refrain from selling ANN’s independent media outlets to any individual or organization with a poor record on media freedom and instead protect the editorial independence that currently defines those media outlets.
The joint statement was signed by the Association of Online Media, the Association of Independent Electronic Media, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, the B92 Fund Foundation, CRTA, the Renewable Energy and Environmental Regulatory Institute, the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YIHR), Transparency Serbia, Initiative A11, the European Movement in Serbia, the Krokodil Association, Women for Peace Association, the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, and Civic Initiatives.
It was also signed by the Center for Contemporary Politics, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, Rainbow Ignite, the Autonomous Women’s Center, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), BeFem, the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, FemPlatz, the organized group SviĆe, the Trag Foundation, the Independent Women’s Center Dimitrovgrad, and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia.
