BRUSSELS — Media freedom advocates and European journalism groups are warning that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s state-level public service broadcaster, Radio-Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT), is on the verge of shutting down due to severe financial and institutional blockages.
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its local affiliate, the Bosnia-Herzegovina journalists’ association BH Novinari (BHN), issued an urgent appeal to domestic authorities and European Union officials to intervene before the network collapses. BHRT’s bank accounts, the EFJ and BHN said, have been frozen for over a month, forcing the network to cut programming and leaving more than 700 journalists, producers, and technical staff facing potential job losses and unpaid salaries.
Calls for EU Intervention
Appealing to Davor Ivo Stier—a Croatian Member of the European Parliament representing the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and chair of the EP Delegation for Relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo—EFJ Director Renate Schroeder urged direct EU intervention.
Schroeder requested that European lawmakers submit formal inquiries to the European Commission to hold Bosnian authorities accountable.
“In a country like Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a vulnerable democratic infrastructure and an immensely weakened information ecosystem, we truly believe that maintaining BHRT is essential, as well as an important response to the immense amounts of disinformation and foreign influence,” Schroeder stated.
Threat to Regional Public Media
Press freedom groups warned that a shutdown would make Bosnia and Herzegovina the only Western Balkan country without a state-level public media organization.
“Closing BHRT would not mean the disappearance of only one television and one radio programme, but the collapse of the entire public broadcasting system,” the BHN said in a statement. “Bosnia and Herzegovina could become the only country in the Western Balkans without a state-level public service media outlet.”
EFJ President Maja Sever added that public service media cannot maintain editorial independence when forced to operate under persistent financial threat. Media organizations are calling on Bosnian lawmakers to resolve the account freeze, ensure the lawful collection of RTV license fees, and establish a long-term funding structure aligned with European Media Freedom Act standards.
Launching a campaign for funding on 26 September, BHRT said it needs financial support to preserve broadcasting as state institutions and international organizations are “unwilling to provide us with stable, systemic funding.”
“BHRT is not merely a broadcaster. We are defending the signal that has connected this country for decades, in good times and bad,” the broadcaster said.
In September, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Minister of Communications and Transport, Edin Forto, petitioned the Sarajevo Municipal Court to intervene in an enforcement case against the national public broadcaster, Radio-Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT). The dispute stems from claims made by the regional broadcaster, Radio-Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS), regarding the use of radio relay links.
While the relay link claim is valued at approximately €7.5 million, BHRT’s bank accounts remain frozen under a broader claim by RTRS totaling just over €9 million. Forto appealed to the court to suspend enforcement on the portions of the claim that no longer hold a legal basis and to unfreeze BHRT’s accounts.
However, Republika Srpska officials have continually shown opposition to any decision without their participation.
“There will be no money from the budget for those purposes, because Srpska has a say in Sarajevo,” said Staša Košarac, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, in August comments to the news agency SRNA on Forto’s rescue efforts. “Of course, nothing will come of that, because the SNSD [Alliance of Independent Social Democrats] will never give its consent for it.”
Separately, the European Board for Media Services is reviewing Alpac Capital’s acquisition of United Group’s media brand Adria News Network (ANN) with holdings span Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Alpac Capital also owns Euronews.
Sources
- Comments by minister Staša Košarac to Republika Srpska news agency SRNA. — https://www.srna.rs/en/novost/1416485/kosarac:-constant-attacks-on-snsd-are-political-desperation-of-the-%22troika%22
- Statement by Bosnia and Herzegovinan Minister of Communications and Transport, Edin Forto. — https://mkt.gov.ba/en/portal/post/minister-forto-the-legal-dispute-must-not-call-into-question-the-functioning-of-the-bhrt-1789990745017
- Statement by Bosnia-Herzegovinan journalist association BH Novinari (BHN) — https://bhnovinari.ba/en/2026/09/25/efj-director-in-letter-to-meps-we-call-on-you-to-advocate-for-a-strong-eu-and-bih-authorities-response-to-the-crisis-at-bhrt/