The Council of Europe will co-organise the upcoming conference in the offices of national broadcaster of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 13th June. The conference will focus on the need of media law reform and securing adequate and sustainable funding in order to ensure the existence of Public Service Media in the country.

Growing political fragmentation in Bosnia and Herzegovina has worked against the existence of the Public Service Media in its current form and expected media law reforms were never implemented. National broadcaster BHRT has accumulated substantial debts over the years - erosion of the license fee, a weak fee collection system and payment arrears from regional broadcast partners have left BHRT at threat of imminent closure.

The conference is being jointly organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), The Radio and Television of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BHRT), the BH Journalists Association, the Council of Europe, the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, the European Federation of Journalists and the South East Europe Media Organization. It provides an opportunity to bring together public authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina along with representatives of the media, international organizations, civil society and other experts to discuss possible solutions and ensure proper implementation of the Council of Europe and European Union standards.

• Supporting Public Service Media - Presentation by Patrick Penninckx, the Head of Information Society Department of the Council of Europe
• Council of Europe and Public Service Media in brief
• Conference highlights
• Programme
• Recommendations from the Conference on National Public Service Broadcasting in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Media coverage