At the beginning of this week, the SafeJournalists Network sent a letter of concern to the competent institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) regarding the financial crisis that has long affected the national public broadcaster, Radio–Television of BiH (BHRT).
After the BiH Presidency adopted the state budget for 2025, which was later confirmed by both chambers of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, BHRT was left without 22 million convertible marks in budget funds. According to BHRT, these funds were intended for repaying the debt to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), paying taxes and social contributions for employees’ salaries, and covering debts for various utility services. Due to these outstanding debts, BHRT may soon be left without electricity and gas, and a blockage of the broadcaster’s bank accounts is also being considered because of a VAT debt of around 9.5 million KM.
The total debt of BHRT amounts to 54 million KM, while at the same time this public service broadcaster is owed nearly 100 million KM by RTRS, the public broadcaster of Republika Srpska, which stopped transferring 50% of the collected RTV tax to the national broadcaster in 2017, contrary to final court rulings and the Law on the Public Broadcasting System of BiH.
The SafeJournalists network called on all relevant institutions to immediately take concrete steps to prevent the financial collapse of BHRT, including the adoption of urgent financial measures that would prevent asset seizure and service interruptions. Member organizations of the network also requested the urgent establishment of a transparent, long-term, and legally sustainable financing model for the national public broadcaster.
One of the letters can be read here.
