Based on a court ruling, BHRT (Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina) must pay €8.5 million (17 million KM) to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). This debt, dating back to 2007, is the reason BHRT has been under EBU sanctions since 2017.

The court has ordered the debt to be settled by selling BHRT’s property, specifically their building known colloquially as the “Grey House.”

Edin Forto, the Minister of Communications and Transport, responded to the ruling.

“The nearly twenty-year neglect of BHRT, both by government bodies and BHRT’s management, has come to a head. While it is essential to establish responsibility, now is not the time to dwell on who is more to blame. What matters most for the state, its citizens, and BHRT employees is to pay off this debt and focus on stabilizing BHRT’s financial operations and ensuring the financial self-sufficiency of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s public broadcasting system, which is a condition for full EU membership,” said Forto.

He emphasized that he will push for the debt repayment to be funded from the state budget for 2025 and for BHRT to be strengthened through a new law on the public broadcasting system, guaranteeing the collection of the TV license fee nationwide and other forms of support.

“As both a minister and president of Naša Stranka, I will insist on this. It is crucial that BHRT’s functioning is not jeopardized; it is one of our clearest symbols of statehood and will survive and become stronger,” stated the BiH Minister of Transport and Communications.

Forto argues that selling crucial infrastructure for BHRT’s operations, which is valued at nearly ten times the debt amount (€85 million), is senseless.

“Until a new legal solution is adopted to ensure the financial self-sufficiency of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s public broadcasting system, it is necessary to fully comply with the current law, which obligates citizens to pay the TV license fee, with 50% of the funds going to BHRT and 25% to each of the entity public broadcasters,” Forto noted.

He reminded that membership in the European Broadcasting Union is significant and not just for participating in prestigious events like Eurovision, from which Bosnia and Herzegovina has been excluded due to financial debts. Membership enables the international exchange of program content in areas such as foreign policy, sports, and culture, benefiting not only BHRT but also the entity public broadcasters.