We, the proposers and candidates for members of the Council of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM), hereby inform the public that we are withdrawing from further participation in this process. Our decision comes after none of the 30 complaints submitted by legitimate proposers were considered, and warnings about serious legal violations and misinterpretations of fundamental legal norms were ignored.
At the session of the Committee for Culture and Information held on June 6, 2025, it was decided to disregard the Law on Electronic Media and to accept all illegal proposers and candidates. The complaints were not considered in the subsequent sessions held on June 9 and 11 either. In doing so, the National Assembly and the competent committee deliberately carried out a series of actions contrary to the law, legal standards, and principles of public interest.
We remind the public that the process of electing a new REM Council was launched following two weeks of student and citizen protests, during which demands were made for its formation in accordance with the law. Instead, we are once again witnessing a political agreement that has rendered the process meaningless and undermined the legal order of the Republic of Serbia.
We refuse to be complicit in a simulation of reform and the pretense of fulfilling European obligations while REM, as an independent body, is being systematically dismantled. REM is not a political tool – it exists to protect civil rights, freedom of expression, to combat hate speech, and to ensure true media pluralism.
We firmly believe that accession to the European Union cannot be achieved outside the law, but only through its consistent application. For all these reasons, we consider this process to be legally and politically compromised and hereby confirm our withdrawal from further participation.
We remind the public that yesterday, six film associations and the Association of Dramatic Artists of Serbia, along with their four candidates, withdrew from the process. With the withdrawal of an even greater number of participants today, a total of 78 authorized proposers and 16 candidates have now withdrawn from the REM Council election process. In as many as seven out of nine categories, both proposers and candidates have stepped down, clearly demonstrating that this process has lost all legitimacy.
The letter submitted today to the National Assembly, containing the signatures of the proposers and candidates who have withdrawn from the process, is attached.
Notification of Withdrawal from the REM Council Election Process
