Jutarnji list, 17. sijecnja 2003., str. 8
INTERVJU Alessandro Fracassetti, glasnogovornik Misije OESS-a u Hrvatskoj, komentira prijedlog Zakona o HRT-u
Iz zakona izbacite sve što izravno kontrolira HTV Hrvatska vec ima dobro riješen taj nezavisni položaj Vijeca HRT-a. Clanove Vijeca samostalno imanuju udruge civilnog društva. Time se Hrvatska može hvaliti u Europi Razgovarao Igor Vukic
Sabor ce na sjednici koja pocinje sljedeci tjedan raspravljati i o konacnom prijedlogu novoga Zakona o HRT-u. Kako bi pomogla hrvatskoj Vladi da donese zakon u skladu s europskim standardima, i ujedno provjerila koliko je u toj namjeri Vlada iskrena, Misija OESS-a u Hrvatskoj pozorno je pratila tijek donošenja toga važnog zakona. Misija je angažirala eksperta za javnu radioteleviziju u tranzicijskim zemljama, poljskog profesora Karola Jakubowicza, da pregleda Vladine prijedloge i sugerira moguca poboljšanja.
U hrvatskoj javnosti pojavile su se tvrdnje da postoje razlike u oštrini kritike prema Vladinu prijedlogu izmedu Jakubowicza i zagrebackog ureda Misije. Navedene su primjedbe da Misija nije na vrijeme dostavila Vladine prijedloge na analizu i da je na neki nacin asistirala Vladi u pokušaju skrivanja pravog Jakubowiczeva stajališta o novom Zakonu o HRT-u. Kako to komentirate?
Ne postoje razlike izmedu ocjena prof. Jakubowicza i Misije OESS-a. Mi smo ga angažirali kao cijenjenog strucnjaka Vijeca Europe. Na njegovim analizama je logotip OESS-a i mi stojimo iza svih djelova njegovih analiza. Misija OESS-a u Zagrebu u najkracem mogucem roku opskrbila ga je prijevodima Vladinih prijedloga, što zbog brzog tempa promjena ponekad nije bilo lako. Izjava Misije od 18. prosinca sadrži ocjenu da najnoviji nacrt zakon o HRT-u predstavlja poboljšanje prethodnih nacrta te bi uz nekoliko izmjena mogao osigurati dobru osnovu za novi zakon. Takoder kaže da su u prijedlogu uocene promjene koje su “korak naprijed prema prihvatljivom okviru za transformaciju HRT-a u istinski javni medij”. No postoji i dodatak da se moraju “poduzeti dodatni koraci da bi se postigao taj cilj”. Preporuke prof. Jakubowicza upucene Vladi sadrže upravo te savjete što još treba uciniti.
Visok europski standard Koja je najvažnija od tih preporuka? Kljucna stvar je osiguranje nezavisnosti Vijeca HRT-a. Prema Vladinu prijedlogu, novo Vijece imalo bi 11 clanova, a birao bi ih Sabor nakon javnog poziva. Jakubowicz smatra da bi Sabor tako dobio odrješene ruke u izboru Vijeca, što bi bilo korak u nazad u odnosu na demokratska postignuca ostvarena u važecem zakonu. Prema Vladinom prijedlogu, Vijece HRT-a dobilo je šire ovlasti nego dosad, i to je dobro. Vijece, nakon javnog natjecaja, imenuje ravnatelja i ostale osobe na upravljackim položajima. Vijece je stavljeno na mjesto gdje može biti stvarno bitno nadzorno tijelo rada HRT-a. Upravo zato je važno da bude nezavisno od vladajuce politike. Hrvatska vec sada ima dobro riješen taj nezavisni položaj Vijeca. Clanove Vijeca samostalno imenuju udruge civilnog društva. Time se Hrvatska može hvaliti u Europi. Jakubowicz u analizi kaže da bi se moglo prihvatiti rješenje po kojem bi Vijece imenovao i razrješavao Sabor, ali samo tako da obicnom vecinom potvrduje Vijece sastavljeno od clanova koje su samostalno predložile udruge civilnoga društva.
Koje su druge zamjerke Vladinu prijedlogu?
Nije potrebno propisati da Vijece podnosi izvještaje kad god to Sabor zatraži. Jedanput godišnje sasvim je dovoljno. Nije potrebno ni tražiti od ravnatelja da podnosi izvještaje Saboru. On treba izvještavati Vijece i biti odgovoran samo njemu.
Paralelna odgovornost Treba ukloniti i odredbe prema kojima Sabor može obaviti nadzor nad Vijecem. Ostanu li te odredbe, one ce biti signal da vlast ne želi stvarnu autonomiju Vijeca HRT-a. Iz zakona treba izbaciti sve što može omoguciti izravnu politicku kontrolu nad javnom televizijom.
Je li u Vladinu prijedlogu dobro riješen nacin izbora nižih ravnatelja i glavnih urednika?
To bi rješjenje bilo dobro uz uvjet da se Vijece HRT-a izabire neovisno. Vijece HRT-a trebalo bi biti autonomno u izboru kandidata, prikupljenih javnim natjecajem. Prije odluke Vijece bi moglo saslušati mišljenje ravnatelja, no ne bi smjelo biti vezano tim mišljenjem.
Kako ocjenjujete sadašnju situaciju na HRT-u?
Naši savjeti nisu reakcija na trenutacne odnose na HRT-u. Ipak, može se reci da je postojeci model - prema kojemu Upravu bira Sabor, a glavnog urednika i urednike Vijece HRT-a - dao doprinos pojacavanju konflikta medu odgovornim ljudima. Nastali su paralelni lanci odgovornosti i komunikacije.
Slažete li se s mišljenjem Jeana Stocka, glavnog tajnika EBU-a, koji smatra da HRT, kao i svaka javna radiotelevizija, mora imati jednog šefa, jednu osobu odgovornu i za program i za financiranje? Kakvu god strukturu napravili, mora biti jasno tko kome odgovara i koji su smjerovi komuniciranja medu njima. Tko god bude vodio HRT, mora sacuvati svoju nezavisnost.
Konkurencija u elektronskim medijima Zašto se Misija OESS-a toliko angažirala na promjeni Zakona o HRT-u?
Velikoj vecini stanovništva u Hrvatskoj javna televizija još je primarni izvor informacija, stoga je iznimno važno osigurati da HRT bude što više sacuvan od politickog upletanja. Reforma zakonodavstva o elektronskim medjima je jedan od kljucnih aspekata našeg mandata te dugorocna medunarodna obveza Hrvatske. Vaša Vlada izjavila je da zbog vlastite želje i približavanja EU želi postici europske standarde. Jedan od njih je i konkurencija u elektronskim medijima, a ta konkurencija u Hrvatskoj, što se tice televizije, još ne postoji. U više drugih zemalja regije državni, odnosno javni TV mediji više nisu glavni informatori javnosti na nacionalnoj razini. OESS stoga pozdravlja raspisivanje natjecaja za treci program HTV-a.
Jutarnji list, 17 January 2003, p. 8
INTERVIEW: Alessandro Fracassetti, Spokesperson of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, comments on the draft Law on HRT
Take out of the law everything that enables direct control over HRT
The independent position of the HRT Council is already well resolved in Croatia. Members of the Council are appointed independently by the associations of civil society. This is something Croatia can be praised for in Europe
By Igor Vukic
At the session starting next week, the Parliament will, inter alia, discuss the final draft of the new HRT Law. In order to assist the Croatian Government in the adoption of a law which is in line with European standards and at the same time check the extent to which the Government's intentions are sincere, the OSCE Mission to Croatia closely monitored the course of the adoption of that important law.
The Mission engaged an expert for public radio and television in transition countries, Polish professor Karol Jakubowicz, to review the Government’s drafts and suggest possible improvements.
Some statements have appeared in the Croatian media alleging that there are differences between Jakubowicz and the Mission’s office in Zagreb about the severity of the criticism towards the Government’s draft. There have been remarks that the Mission failed to forward the Government’s drafts for analysis on time and that, to a certain extent, it assisted the Government in its attempt to hide Jakubowicz’s standpoint on the new Law on HRT. How do you comment this?
There are no differences between the assessments made by Prof. Jakubowicz and the ones made by the OSCE Mission. We engaged him as a distinguished expert of the Council of Europe. His analysis contains the OSCE logo and we support all parts of the analysis. The OSCE Mission in Zagreb provided him with the translations of Government’s drafts within the shortest period of time possible, which was sometimes not easy, due to the quick pace of the changes. The Mission’s statement of 18 December contains an assessment that the latest draft Law on HRT represents an improvement in comparison to former drafts and that, along with several changes, it could provide a solid basis for a new law. It also states that the changes, which were noted in the draft, represent “a step forward towards an acceptable framework for the transformation of the HTV into a truly public broadcasting service”. However, it also states that “additional steps must be taken in order to achieve that goal”. The recommendations of Prof. Jakubowicz, which were sent to the Government, contain precise advices on what still needs to be done.
High European standard Which one of those recommendations is the most important?
The key issue is to secure the independence of the HRT Council. According to the Government’s draft, a new Council would comprise 11 members and they would be elected by the Parliament following a public tender. Jakubowicz deems that, by doing so, Parliament would be given free hand in the election of the Council, which would be a step backward compared to the democratic standards achieved in the current law. According to the Government’s draft, the HRT Council received broader competencies than before, which is good. Following a public tender, the Council appoints the Director General and other persons on key management positions. The Council is put in a position where it can truly be an important supervisory body of the work of HRT. This is why it is important that the Council is independent from the politics of the day. The independent position of the HRT Council is already well resolved in Croatia. Members of the Council are independently appointed by associations from the civil society. This is something Croatia can be praised for in Europe. In his analysis, Jakubowicz says that one of the acceptable solutions could be for the Council to be appointed and dismissed by the Parliament but only in the manner in which the Parliament would approve, by a simple majority, a Council composed of members nominated independently by civil society associations.
What are the other objections to the Government’s draft?
It is not necessary to stipulate that the Council submits reports every time the Parliament requests them. Once per year is enough. It is also not necessary to request from the Director General to submit reports to the Parliament. He should report to the Council and be responsible only to the Council.
Parallel responsibility Provisions allowing the Parliament to supervise the Council should also be eliminated. Should those provisions stay, they would represent a signal that the authorities do not want true autonomy for the HRT Council. Everything that could provide for direct political control over the public television should be removed from the law.
Does the Government’s draft offer a good solution for the election of lower-ranked directors and chief editors?
That could be a good solution, provided the HRT Council is elected independently. The HRT Council should be autonomous in the election of candidates, whose nominations have been collected through a public tender. Before its decision, the Council could listen to the Director General’s opinion, but it should not be bound by that opinion.
What is the current situation at the HRT?
Our advice is not a reaction to the current relations in HRT. However, one could say that the existing model based on which Parliament appoints the management, while the HRT Council appoints the Editor in Chief and other editors, contributed to the strenghtening of conflicts among responsible persons. Parallel lines of responsibility and communication were created.
Do you agree with the opinion of Jean Stock, the Secretary General of the EBU, who believes that the HRT, as well as every public radio and television, should have one head, one person responsible both for the program and for the financing?
Whatever structure is created, it must be clear who is responsible to whom and what are the lines of communication between them. Whoever runs the HRT must preserve his independence.
Competition in electronic media Why did the OSCE Mission engage itself to such extent in the changes of the Law on HRT?
Public television is still the primary source of information for the large majority of the population in Croatia, therefore it is extremely important to make sure that the HRT is protected from political interference as much as possible. The reform of legislation on electronic media is one of the key aspects of our mandate and a long-term international commitment of Croatia. Your government stated that it wanted to reach European standards both for its own wishes and in order to come closer to the EU. Competition in the electronic media is one of them. That competititon in Croatia, as far as the television is concerned, still does not exist. In several other countries of the region, the state or public TV media are no longer the main providers of infomation to the public at the national level. Therefore, the OSCE welcomes the invitation of tenders for the third HTV program.