What it is
REM is Serbia's independent regulator of electronic media. Its nine-member Council takes decisions within the regulator's remit, including licences, oversight of media-service providers, and statutory measures. The National Assembly elects members by a majority of all MPs for a non-renewable six-year term.
How the Council is appointed
The law names nine groups entitled to nominate candidates. They include rights-protection bodies, accredited universities, associations of electronic-media publishers, journalists, film, stage, and music artists, and groups for freedom of expression and child protection; national minority councils and churches with religious communities are separate groups. Each group nominates two candidates, public hearings are held, and parliament then votes on the candidates.
Why the procedure became disputed
Parliament elected eight members on November 12, 2025. Four of them — Dubravka Valić Nedeljković, Ira Prodanov Krajišnik, Mileva Malešić, and Rodoljub Šabić — submitted resignation statements on December 19 before taking office. In June they said they would take office subject to conditions concerning the ninth member's selection. N1 reported their view that the refusal to vote for the minority candidate and later steps harmed the procedure's legitimacy; that is the letter writers' assessment, not a court finding.
Current status
On July 10, 2026, parliament officially clarified how Article 18(4) should be read: only a statement submitted after taking office counts as a resignation under that provision. The December statements by four elected members therefore did not end their mandates, and they joined the new Council. At the constituent session on July 20, neither a chair nor a deputy was elected: Mileva Malešić and Miloš Garić each received four votes, while six are required for election. The ninth seat for a candidate nominated by the national minority councils remains unfilled.
Work without an elected chair
Olivera Zekić, REM's public-relations officer, and a lawyer quoted by N1 consider that, if members agree, the oldest member, Dubravka Valić Nedeljković, may preside until an election and the Council may take decisions. The law, REM statute and rules of procedure do not expressly regulate this situation. This is REM's position and a legal assessment, not a final interpretation by a court or lawmakers. Valić Nedeljković told N1 that some technical, but not key, decisions are possible without a chair.
Why it matters
The Council affects licences, compliance oversight, and measures involving media-service providers. After a long period without fully functioning decision-making, outstanding work includes appointments to the governing bodies of public broadcasters and complaints about broadcasters. The unfilled ninth seat and absence of elected leadership do not cancel the mandates of the eight members, but mean the Council still lacks its full membership and settled working arrangements.
Next open question
The July 29 session should show whether the eight members can elect a chair and deputy. Separately, it remains unclear when and how the selection of the national minority councils' candidate will be completed; that seat is still vacant.