On the eve of Croatia finalising negotiations to join the European Union it has been called on by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to re-consider a decision to cut the licence fee to public broadcaster HRT by one quarter from 1 August.
EBU director general Ingrid Deltenre has said in a letter to Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said that such a drastic reduction would do irretrievable damage to HRT. “Sustainably-funded public service broadcasters are vital to European societies and democracy,’ said Deltenre.
The licence fee accounted for nearly 80% of HRT’s income last year. According to Deltenre, HRT is one of the most successful public service broadcasters in eastern Europe and a licence cut would drastic reduce the volume and quality of every genre of programming.
