In countries in transition there is no social dialog in the media sector, which is a precondition for protecting journalists' rights and improving the quality of their work, participants said during the opening day of the European Federation of Journalists annual assembly on June 15, taking place in Belgrade.

In the opening speech, President Boris Tadic said the resolution of the murder of journalists was of utmost importance for the country's security, adding he saw that as his personal mission.

International Federation of Journalists Executive Committee member Jasmina Popovic suggested that a solution to the problems in the media not be sought from political circles, as media owners come from those same circles. She added that media representatives should talk to politicians, but that a solution was in a social dialog.

Speaking about social dialog in inter-ethnic media, Popovic said the situation in Serbia was even worse than in Croatia, as Zagreb was close to the EU and would have to apply European standards.

Giving an example of the poor position of media in Serbia, Belgrade daily Politika journalist Radojica Dzunic said nine years ago the daily had 2,000 employees, while there were only 430 people working today.

He added that despite an agreement with the management a year ago that workers would be proclaimed redundant only after consulting with trade unions, the management had recently announced that 31 percent of the staff would be fired, based on a subjective assessment of their work.