ZAGREB, January 22, 2018 - The European Union's foreign ministers on Monday discussed an action plan to tackle fake news in the context of perceiving fake news as a challenge in the run-up to the forthcoming European Parliament elections, and Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić said that there were some in Croatia who resorted to fake news in a bid to win a seat in the European Parliament.

"In the context of preparations for countering fake news and in connection with the forthcoming EP elections, it is obvious that the election campaign has already been launched in Croatia and that there are some who use fake news in an attempt to win a seat in the European Parliament," Pejčinović Burić said in Brussels, answering questions from the press.

She also believes that the recent developments and debates in the Croatian parliament should be perceived in that context.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council focused its debate on the prevention of fake news and the influence of third countries on east and southeast Europe and on the EU's southern neighbours, as well as on the EU member-states.

The action plan outlined by the European Commission in December revolves around the exposure of citizens to large scale disinformation, including misleading or outright false information.

The Commission has engaged with all stakeholders to define a clear, comprehensive and broad-based action plan to tackle the spread and impact of online disinformation in Europe and ensure the protection of European values and democratic systems.

"The European Union has outlined an action plan to step up efforts to counter disinformation in Europe and beyond focusing on four key areas. This plan serves to build EU's capabilities and strengthen cooperation between member states by improving detection, having a coordinated response to threats, collaboration with online platforms and industry as well as raising awareness and empowering citizens," according to information on the EC's website.

The Croatian minister said that by March, the EU member-states are supposed to set up national contact points for the exchange of important information.

In the medium- and long-run it is essential to raise awareness of the existence of fake news and to enhance media culture and ways to interpret information and verify it, she added, calling for a broad struggle against this phenomenon.

More news on the elections for the European Parliament in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

Croatia will be more actively involved in the fight against fake news whose purpose is to fool the public. Among other things, the government plans to create a national contact point whose task will be to warn other EU members about deliberately disseminated disinformation in real-time through a rapid alert system which should be launched in March, ahead of European elections, reports Večernji List on January 21, 2019.

The contact point and the rapid alert system are part of the European Commission's action plan. The main reason is the European elections in May, but also the trend that fake news and misinformation, often associated with populist movements, are ruining the confidence of citizens in institutions.

“Croatia supports the adoption of the action plan against disinformation because a coordinated European response needs to be provided against this challenge and threat, especially in the light of European elections, but also in the long run,” said the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. Decisions on further steps will be taken in coordination and cooperation with EU partners.

Data from the Eurobarometer survey from March last year showed that Croatians read fake news more than the EU average. As much as 47% of respondents from Croatia said they believe they face fake news every day, while 29% thought that they find misinformation at least once a week. This is more than the EU average with 37% of respondents believing they are exposed to disinformation on a daily basis. More than 40% of Croatian respondents said that false news is a real problem for Croatia, but also democracy in general. The survey showed that Internet media had the lowest credibility, as opposed to radio, television and print media.

“In 2017, Croatia adopted the National Security Strategy and the Law on the Homeland Security System. The homeland security system has been established, which recognises new security challenges and risks, as well as hybrid action, including disinformation. It recognises the importance of coordinated action of all components of the homeland security system in Croatia in response to contemporary security threats and risks,” explained the Ministry.

The action plan, which will be discussed today at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, focuses on four areas. “The implementation should bring about the strengthening of citizens’ confidence in institutions at the national and EU levels, and strengthening of responses against the disinformation campaigns aimed at destabilising democratic systems and processes, promoting populism and reducing the reputation of the EU,” said the sources.

When it comes to the sources of disinformation in the EU, the finger is most often pointed towards Russia. In 2017, Croatia sent a letter to EU High Representative Federica Mogherini calling for the strengthening of the struggle against Russian propaganda. The European External Action Service (EEAS), headed by Mogherini, has already established a working group within StratCom (Strategic Communication) focusing on the eastern neighbourhood (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova) in 2015, but Croatia was not interested in this project at the time. In addition to pro-Russian sources, the European Commission has also named another source of disinformation. The European Council heard that some prime ministers are contributing to the spread of false news, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban and his statements about Brexit and migrants.

More news on the media in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Sandra Veljković).

Popular radio host Davor Dretar will no longer be heard on the Croatian Radio, Croatia’s national radio broadcaster. According to unofficial sources, his contract has not been extended. On its own, that would not be a particularly interesting decision; however, the firing happened just a few days after Dretar was covered by the Croatian media because he used an event in Križevci to criticise HDZ member of Parliament Josip Đakić, reports Večernji List on January 15, 2019.

Dretar was the host for an event marking the 70th anniversary of the Radnik company in Križevci. At one point, he said that, in addition to being an entertainer and comedian, he has had a private company for 25 years, but is struggling daily with “the slow and completely uninterested state bureaucracy.” He also added that he had to care for two children, the wife and the mother, and stated that "nobody asks how ordinary people feel like.”

Đakić was in the audience but was looking at his mobile phone the whole time. Dretar complained about it and then left the event. Although everyone thought he was joking, Dretar did not return.

“Many people wonder what I said in Križevci. I said what is clear to everybody among the honest and hard-working people in Croatia. And when comedians do not feel like laughing...” wrote Dretar in a post on Facebook.

When asked to confirm the information that he was not offered a new contract with the Croatian Radio-Television, he answered he could not say anything about the topic for the moment. As expected, the HRT also did not comment. “As usual, the Croatian Radio-Television does not comment on labour issues,” responded the HRT.

As for the radio, it was decided that the morning show, which Dretar was hosting together with Frano Ridjan, would be anchored by just one host in the future. After 17 years of working for Narodni Radio, Dretar moved to the second programme of the Croatian Radio in 2015. From March last year, he hosted the morning show on Tuesdays and Fridays. Also, he occasionally hosts shows on Nova TV, the most popular TV station in Croatia.

More news on the media freedoms in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Samir Milla).

ZAGREB, January 10, 2019 - At its meeting on Thursday, the government recommended to parliament to adopt the annual reports on the work of the Electronic Media Council and Agency and the report on the operation of the Croatian Broadcasting Corporation (HRT).

Speaking of the work of the Electronic Media Council in 2017, Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said that it had issued 44 sanctions, including 36 warnings and eight cautions.

The Electronic Media Agency made a great contribution to efforts to reduce hate speech in the public sphere by raising public awareness and encouraging pluralism. The agency continued promoting media literacy via the medijskapismenost.hr website by participating in and conducting research on the media habits of children and parents, working on new projects and bringing together participants in media literacy projects.

As for the recent wave of lawsuits against journalists and editors, the minister proposed establishing a Media Council to reduce the pressure on the media.

Speaking of the public broadcaster HRT, Obuljen Koržinek said that the company had generated a profit of 100 million kuna (13.5 million euro) in 2017, most of which had been used to improve its business and cover the losses from the previous period. However, the loss carried over at the end of 2017 was still high, reaching 549.6 million kuna (74.2 million euro).

Business results indicate that certain progress has been made, as seen in the increased profit, but the focus should continue to be on reducing labour costs so that more money can be directed at production, she added.

In 2017, the government and the HRT concluded a new five-year agreement.

More news on the media in Croatia can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 9, 2019 - The Croatian Writers’ Society (HDP) and the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the journalists and media found guilty in court "for doing their job" and asked the Culture Ministry to change media regulations so as to protect the freedom of expression and writers' independence.

"A state in which sentences are delivered against journalists who stated true facts about a politician is not a democracy in the full sense of the word," they said in a joint press release, adding that a state in which it is usual to seek enormous damages from journalists in the name of alleged emotional distress is not a state with a bright future.

Sentences against a journalist for true reporting and a web portal for satirical articles as well as the huge number of lawsuits, often filed by politicians and public figures seeking high damages, "are happening to us, here and now," the press release said. "As writers, authors of possibly 'contentious' texts, as associates and readers of 'contentious' media, we don't agree to such a bastard democracy and social regression."

The HDP and the HND asked the government and the Culture Ministry, as the most responsible for media legislation, "to protect the freedom of expression and writers' independence." They appealed for changing media regulations and regulating relations in the media in a way that will enable pluralism of opinion, root out censorship and reduce pressure on journalists and other authors.

They also asked politicians to show by example how one encourages social dialogue and accepts a critical opinion instead of filing lawsuits.

More news on the media in Croatia can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 7, 2019 - Representatives of newspaper publishers at the Croatian Employers Association (HUP) on Monday expressed concern about a recent streak of cases in which courts ruled against a number of media outlets, ordering them to pay fines for cases of mental anguish, and described the rulings as legally unfounded and unfair and called on the relevant institutions to embark on legislative changes that would define clear and predictable rules for the publishing industry.

Newspaper publishers believe that the number of rulings against media outlets as well as the lack of uniform legal standards on which they are based, pose a serious threat to freedom of expression and media freedoms and that by generating legal insecurity, they jeopardise the stable operation of newspaper publishers, thus restricting their entrepreneurial freedom.

They recall that a few days ago a Croatian satirical portal was fined over a satirical article, with the judge deciding that assertions that are factually incorrect cannot be considered as satire.

A broader application of such a standard would in the future make any satirical text actionable, newspaper publishers warn.

They also recall a case where the plaintiff was given high damages for mental anguish suffered due to claims made in an authorised interview in which the plaintiff was not mentioned at all, as well as a case when a web portal was fined for reporting about a public protest and carrying statements made at the rally.

Newspaper publishers also warn of fines being excessive and of claims for damages being filed against different media outlets concerning the same mental anguish.

Pointing to the profile of plaintiffs, newspaper publishers say that even though western legal standards have for decades raised the threshold of acceptable public criticism of state officials and holders of public offices, in Croatia the number of cases where plaintiffs are senior members of political parties or the judiciary has been growing. This has the effect of institutional censorship and gives rise to suspicion about conflict of interest, newspaper publishers have said.

More news on the media in Croatia can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 4, 2019 - The Publishing and Printing Organisation with the Croatian Employer's Association (HUP) said in a press release on Friday that it supported proposals and efforts of umbrella organisations of European publishers who want to use changes to the EU Copyright Directive to prevent the use and commercialisation of their online contents without a permission or an adequate fee.

"European and Croatian publishers call on MEPs to support a proposal to introduce the so-called neighbouring rights (or related rights), namely the rights of a creative work not connected with the work's actual author, within the EU Copyright Directive, as it has already been done by four parliamentary committees.

"The European Media Management Association (EMMA), the European Newspaper Publishers' Association (ENPA), the European Publishers Council (EPC) and the News Media Europe (NME) advocate the introduction of neighbouring rights saying that they will help authors to financially benefit from their work and prohibit others from using it unlawfully," HUP said in the press release.

More news on the Croatia media can be found in our Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, January 3, 2019 - The Croatian public broadcaster HRT on Wednesday dismissed claims it was denying freedom of thought and practising censorship, and insisted that it "honours constitutional values that guarantee freedom of expression and thought."

The HRT responded to statements by Hrvoje Zovko, a Croatian Television (HTV) editor who serves as president of the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND), and Sanja Mikleušević Pavić, the head of the HND branch at HTV, saying that it had brought defamation charges against the two for stating that the HRT was practising censorship even though they knew this was not true. The company also filed a lawsuit demanding that the two return a laptop and other equipment issued to them for work purposes.

The broadcaster noted that in its report of January 2018, in the preparation of which the HND was involved, the South-East Europe Media Organisation (SEEM) did not mention any violations of freedom of the press by the Croatian Radiotelevision, but on the contrary SEEM found that progress had been made since its previous reports.

The Croatian Radiotelevision said that its financial situation was stable and that, following government guidelines, it had reduced losses, regained banks' trust, considerably reduced interest rates and the costs of external contractors, and increased work efficiency.

Citing data from the European Broadcasting Union, the broadcaster said that it ranks among the most viewed public television stations in Europe.

The HRT's reaction came after the HND leaders last week strongly condemned the lawsuits brought by the HRT management against the HND and HRT journalists. The HRT seeks over 500,000 kuna (67,500 euro) in damages because of their public statements. The HND described the Croatian Radiotelevision's move as "an unprecedented attack on the work and activity of the HND branch, intimidation of the journalists and an attempted financial attack on the HND."

A Slovenian member of the European Parliament, Tanja Fajon, described the HRT's latest act against the HND as yet another unacceptable attack on freedom of the press, while the Western Balkans platform for media freedom and safety of journalists, which represents over 8,000 members, strongly condemned the HRT's move and demanded that it withdraw its lawsuits and stop exerting pressure on the HND, describing such actions as unacceptable and unworthy of a public service broadcaster.

More news on the Croatian Radiotelevision can be found in our Business section.

ZAGREB, December 28, 2018 - The Croatian Journalists Association's (HND) leadership on Friday condemned in the strongest terms the latest suits by the HRT public broadcaster's management against the HND and HRT journalists for 500,000 kuna in damages over their public statements, calling it "an unprecedented attack on the work and activity of the HND branch, intimidation of journalists and attempted financial attack on the HND."

HND president Hrvoje Zovko, an HRT journalist and editor, said at a press conference that HND journalists and its HRT branch recently received suits in which the HRT claimed damages for "gross violations of reputation, honour and name."

One of the suits was filed over a statement by the HND's HRT branch of September 11 in which the branch journalists distanced themselves from then current scandals on the HRT, including the sale of FIFA World Cup tickets. The HRT management demands 200,000 kuna in damages from the HND and 50,000 kuna from the president of the HND's HRT branch, Sanja Mikleušević Pavić.

Zovko said that in two other suits the HRT claimed from him 250,000 kuna as compensation for the damage he allegedly caused the HRT with his public statements after being fired from the HRT and before being rehired, only to be immediately suspended.

"As far as I know, this is the only case in which a public television is suing a professional association... In the HND, we see this as an attack on and as financial intimidation and destruction of us and the HND. This is an unprecedented form of censorship and pressure by people running Croatian Radio-Television."

Zovko said the HND had already notified Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and that they would soon notify all relevant Croatian and European institutions as well as international professional organisations.

"This aggression by the HRT and the people who run it should be ended. They are punishing the professional association whose job it is to question the work on the media scene and are suing the people who are pointing to the erosion of programmes and irregularities on the HRT, and I don't know that anyone has been held to account for the omissions in programmes or the revisionist statements on the HRT. They can't sue us as much as we can warn about the irregularities on the HRT," said Zovko.

Mikleušević Pavić said citizens paid subscription and had the right to know how their money was being spent and about the irregularities in the HRT's operations.

"It's certainly not in the interest of Prime Minister Plenković, as a pro-European politician, that such images of extreme repression against journalists on the public broadcaster are going out. This is just the continuation of repression against undesirable journalists on the HRT, which was followed by financial penalisation. This is also an act of destruction of the HRT's credibility, reputation and honour, but we believe it's also a shameful attempt at intimidation."

She spoke of the HRT's omissions, the exodus of its journalists, and its lawsuits against journalists from other media who pointed to irregularities and programme omissions.

HND vice president Denis Romac said the latest suits were the grossest attack on journalists and the HND. He said the Programmes Council recently rejected an HRT work programme for 2019 and that this confirmed that the HRT's programming had already collapsed.

Another HND vice president, Slavica Lukić, said international professional organisations had already warned about the erosion of the HRT's reputation and programmes.

More news on the Croatian Radio Television can be found in our Business section.

ZAGREB, December 21, 2018 - The Electronic Media Council said on Friday its members had received death threats following their decision to take six local television stations off the air for up to 24 hours over hate speech targeting migrants.

The programme in question was aired on November 6 and the six local TV stations had their broadcasting licences temporarily stripped on December 3. Three TV stations were taken off the air for 24 hours and three for four hours.

The threats were made by an as yet unidentified person or persons. They have been reported to the police and an investigation has been launched, the Council said in a statement.

The Council said that it would continue to perform its duties professionally and would not tolerate any hate speech in the public media sector regardless of its source or target.

Last month, after analysing the content of the talk show, which dealt with the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the Electronic Media Council decided that claims made in the show, hosted by Velimir Bujanec, constituted hate speech because they described migrants as terrorists and criminals and as people who intentionally spread infectious diseases. The show's guests were Frano Ćirko, who was introduced as the leader of an organisation called Generacija Obnove, and Zoran Grgić, introduced as an independent analyst.

"The show host did not distance himself from such hate-mongering rhetoric, except for describing it as 'a bit radical', which cannot be considered an appropriate warning that such rhetoric is not allowed... the host himself set the tone of the discussion and incited hate-mongering, discriminatory and humiliating rhetoric against migrants," the Council said.

Its chair Josip Popovac stressed that the Council's decision in no way violated the freedom of speech, noting that there were no forbidden topics but that they should be dealt with professionally, which was not the case with the show in question.

Speaking of the accountability of the guests on the said show, Popovac said that he agreed with the proposal to report the case to the Chief State Prosecutor, noting that "such abuse of public media is unacceptable".

More news on the media issues in Croatia can be found in our Business section.