According to the decision of the Council for National Minorities, Novosti received the same amount as last year, €400,000. Less funding than last year has been allocated to the Serbian Cultural Society “Prosvjeta” for the Days of Serbian Culture, whose programmes were subjected to bans, cancellations and disruptions by masked intruders. Council President Tibor Varga declined to address the media after the session.
At the session of the Council for National Minorities of the Republic of Croatia, held on 6 February in Zagreb, funds were distributed for programmes supporting the cultural autonomy of national minorities. A total of €12.1 million was allocated for 1,235 programmes, including 106 related to information and media, 72 publishing programmes, 463 programmes in cultural amateurism, 591 cultural events, and three based on bilateral agreements, as reported by Portal Novosti.
While most programmes received increased funding this year due to an overall ten-percent rise in available funds, some received less or the same as in previous years. Novosti remained at €400,000, the same amount as last year, which in real terms represents a decrease due to inflation. Less funding than last year was also allocated to the Days of Serbian Culture organised by SKD “Prosvjeta”, whose events faced bans, cancellations and disruptions by masked groups, and the organisers of the exhibition “Srpkinja” in Vukovar will also receive reduced funding this year.
Tibor Varga, President of the Council for National Minorities
Regarding the statistics, commission chair Branka Baksa stated that 1,365 programmes were submitted in response to the funding call by 119 independent minority associations and institutions, as well as federations and communities representing 133 member organisations. Of these, 123 programmes concerned information and media, 101 publishing, 469 cultural amateurism, 669 cultural events, and three were based on bilateral agreements. The requested amount totalled €18.5 million, which is 11.5 percent more than last year. In addition, nine organisations that were not co-funded last year applied this year, and one association of the Turkish national minority applied for the first time. Baksa also noted that, besides programmes of cultural autonomy, €300,000 has been allocated for capital assistance, meaning the creation of conditions for minority cultural autonomy, €20,000 for the Lipovljani Gatherings and the Evening of National Minorities in Bjelovar, and €66,400 to support beneficiaries funded through other budgets, specifically the Italian Drama ensemble of the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka.
Council President Tibor Varga highlighted as a positive development that the decision on the allocation of funds was adopted at the beginning of the year, which will make work easier for minority organisations that previously had to shift their programmes into the second or third quarter.
Several Council members also welcomed the earlier decision-making. MP representing the Czech and Slovak minorities Vladimir Bilek said that funding minority work promotes Croatia as a country that respects minority rights, MP representing Bosniaks and other ex-Yugoslav minorities Armin Hodžić stressed that more attention should be paid to electronic media, while Ukrainian representative Marija Meleško said consultations should be held before decisions on allocation are made.
MP representing Roma and eleven other minorities Veljko Kajtazi expressed objections.
“I have been dissatisfied with the distribution of funds and was previously abstained, but now I am voting ‘in favour’ because I see no one wants to listen to me. Fewer and fewer Roma organisations are applying, the only Roma festival receives too little funding, and no organisation received funds to mark 8 April, International Roma Day. Considering that there are more than 18,000 of us living in 70 settlements across the country, it is difficult for everyone to attend a central event. Members of the allocation commission should also visit minority events to gain better insight into their work,” Kajtazi said.
HND President Hrvoje Zovko and Tibor Varga, President of the Council for National Minorities
Responding to Kajtazi, Varga said that even if twice as much money were distributed, not everyone would be satisfied. After the decision was adopted, he stated that contracts would be delivered soon and that the first instalments would be paid by 20 February. Speaking about the Evening of National Minorities, which last year was organised in Zagreb’s Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall after a 17-year break, he highlighted the outstanding contribution of Czech, Serbian and Ukrainian ensembles and announced that this year’s event is scheduled for 17 October.
There were no official statements to the public after the session because the Council leadership left. Instead, journalists were addressed by Croatian Journalists’ Association President Hrvoje Zovko, who attended on behalf of the umbrella journalists’ organisation representing many journalists working in minority media.
“I had the opportunity, as an interested party, to hear that Europe can be proud of what is being done here, that we are Europe in miniature and that everyone is happy, and then I heard that not everyone can get everything. But what is fundamentally important, before we analyse this year’s funding, is that we still have not received meaningful explanations why funds for Novosti were cut, as last year, nor did we receive answers when we asked questions last year. When we place this in the context of members of the ruling coalition from the Homeland Movement publicly boasting that attacks on Novosti are part of their programme, and that they announced this publicly ahead of the session, it raises questions about the credibility of the entire process,” he said.
“I believe everyone, especially media outlets, should have received increased funding. If you ask me about Novosti, this was a political factor and a form of retaliation. Minority media must not be placed in a ghetto, they cannot write only about folklore or stereotypical community stories. I have the greatest respect for tradition, but these are media operating within Croatia and they have the right to address broader topics as well,” he added, noting that Varga declined to answer questions after the session and that HND has still not received a coherent explanation why a third of Novosti’ funding was cut last year compared to 2024.
“This is an attack on the journalistic profession, and I fear things will only get worse in the coming years. In the broader context of the difficult situation facing media, this sends a bad message. If the Council claims the budget increased by ten percent, can they provide a meaningful explanation why some were reduced or kept at the same level, in this case Novosti? And what does the definition ‘too much political content’ even mean, are we now going to impose quotas on political reporting?” Zovko said, announcing that HND would issue an official response.
Hrvoje Šimičević, head of the HND branch at Novosti, also shared his negative opinion about the Council’s decision and the circumstances under which it was adopted.
As for other organisations, the Joint Council of Municipalities received €334,200, including €193,000 for the organisation itself, with the remainder going to its member associations and numerous cultural societies. The “Guardians of Serbian Identity” from Vukovar will receive €36,000, the Serbian Democratic Forum and its supplement “Nada” €75,000, and SKD “Prosvjeta” €1.25 million across all activity categories, including €650,000 for the work of its subcommittees. SKUDD Đurđevdan from Drežnica will receive €32,000, and SKUD Jovan Lazić from Beli Manastir €30,000. The Serbian National Council received €683,200, also less than last year, while the Serbian Business Association “Privrednik” received €91,000, including €63,000 for its publication. The Association of the Serbian National Community Uranak from Varaždin received €30,000, the Association Women of the Kosovo Valley from Riđani €9,000, the cultural institution Serbian Home from Vukovar €2,500, and the Serbian Cultural Centre €5,700.
Serbian organisations received a total of €2.58 million, followed by Hungarian organisations with €2.02 million, Italian organisations with €1.59 million, Czech organisations with €1.06 million, and others down to Romanian organisations with €28,500 and Turkish organisations with €16,000.