Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Korzinek said on Wednesday that it had received a number of objections to the bill on electronic media, adding that the draft bill is on the agenda of tomorrow's government session and they will then send it to the parliament.

We have included a large number of objections made during public consultation in the bill, and we expect that the discussion in the parliament will be productive, Obuljen Korzinek said after an inner cabinet meeting.

Consultation on the bill took place in February, but it is only now being introduced to the parliament due to well-known circumstances, she added.

The new bill has been harmonised with the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

The bill has more transparent provisions regarding media ownership and financing. It also amends the provisions on media pluralism, that is, fair competition. It regulates video on demand platforms and more precisely it regulates electronic publications.

I believe that the bill will provide for a friendlier environment for the work of media outlets at a time of digital content sharing, and on the other hand it focuses on the protection of minors and vulnerable groups, and it defines provisions on advertising more precisely, the minister said.

As for the responsibility of publishers for user-generated content on electronic publications, that is, comments under articles, Obuljen Korzinek said that the responsibility for that content had existed perviously, but it was now regulated in a more precise way, adding that fines have not changed in any way.

The Electronic Media Council (VEM) decides whether to reprimand or to fine.

VEM opts for fines only in exceptional circumstances, while media legislation focuses primarily on self-regulation and co-regulation, Obuljen Korzinek said.