Western Balkans: Transparency and scrutiny needed over acquisition of Adria News Network

The International Press Institute (IPI) today outlines growing concern over the takeover of Adria News Network by the investment firm which owns Euronews and its potential impact on independent journalism across the Western Balkans.

The sale of Adria News Network (ANN) to Portuguese-owned Alpac Capital poses a number of questions over transparency, funding sources, and the impact on press freedom — all of which should be answered before any regulatory green light is given.

The acquisition is one of the most significant for the Western Balkans in years and would see a change in ownership for many of the most important sources of independent news in the region — including N1, Nova S, Vijesti, Danas, and Radar.

Under the deal, these media outlets would be sold to an investment body whose leadership have well-documented ties to the former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and which has previously faced criticism over the opacity of its funding sources.

Although official regulatory approval of the deal has not yet been completed, Aplac’s CEO has already been registered as the new director of some ANN media titles and earlier this week multiple desk chiefs were dismissed from their roles.

Ahead of any regulatory approval of this deal in Luxembourg, where ANN and United Media are registered, it is essential that full transparency is provided by Alpac and its European Future Media Investment body on the sources of capital involved in the acquisition.

At the European level, immediate oversight is also required from the European Board for Media Services, which should launch its own expert assessment of the deal’s potential impact on media pluralism and concentration, with the aim of guaranteeing that the sale will not erode independent journalism in a region sensitive to media capture.

Major media ownership change for Western Balkans

Adria News Network is a Luxembourg-registered media group which currently owns a portfolio of media across Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia.

ANN was formed in February 2026 as part of a restructuring of the regional media assets of United Group, a major media player in the Western Balkans, into a single umbrella organisation. Titles include independent media known for their watchdog journalism and scrutiny of governments.

Along with partner organisations, IPI met with the management of ANN in Belgrade in March 2026 to seek assurances about the impact of the then reorganisation on independent journalism, against a backdrop of concern over wider political meddling.

At the time, ANN management gave verbal guarantees to press freedom groups that a principal justification of the reorganisation was to insulate the network’s media outlets from political and business pressure. No mention was made of ownership changes.

Less than two months later, United Group then announced that ANN would be sold to Portuguese investment group Alpac Capital, via its Luxembourg-based fund European Future Media Investments (EFMI) for approximately €30 million.

Hungary connection and concern over opaque funding

The planned deal has since drawn scrutiny from journalists and media freedom groups due to the previous media acquisitions of Alpac Capital.

In 2022, the firm bought a majority stake in Euronews, the pan-European news channel which broadcasts in more than 12 languages. The takeover was followed by a major redundancy and restructuring plan.

In 2024, it was then revealed in a joint investigative report that the deal had been financed in part by businesspeople and entities close to the former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Alpac Capital’s CEO and co-founder, Pedro Vargas David, who is also the Chairman of the Board at Euronews, has been widely documented to have personal and business ties to Orbán, who was removed from power in Hungary in April 2026.

Although Alpac Capital and Euronews have consistently denied that the injection of Hungarian state-connected capital resulted in any editorial interference, the deal raised concern over the lack of transparency in Alpac’s operations and the potential for hidden political influence, either direct or indirect.

That Alpac Capital is now seeking to acquire a major piece of the Western Balkans media ecosystem, in a region sensitive to political maneuvering and ownership pressure on critical journalism, yet again without transparency over its funding source, has drawn fresh concern over the model of journalism that the new ownership would pursue.

Threat to independent journalism access the region

On Monday August 17, Alpac Capital’s CEO was added as the new director of ANN media within the Serbian Business Registers Agency, replacing previous directors and management. This impacted N1, TV Nova, Nova.rs, Radar and Danas.

As the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) has noted, this change was carried out without prior notice to employees and before the transaction has been granted regulatory approval. The association warned the move has further increased concern and uncertainty among journalists and media workers, particularly amid reports that changes to editorial positions could follow.

Without significant safeguards in place, IPI is concerned that this deal could significantly affect the landscape for independent journalism in the Western Balkans, pose a threat to watchdog journalism, and result in the weakening of media pluralism.

While these changes would affect media across the region, they could have particular implications for what remains of independent journalism in Serbia, which a fact-finding mission joined by IPI recently warned is experiencing a continued media freedom crisis.

According to reports, the contract between Alpac Capital and United Media contains clauses that explicitly guarantee editorial independence, including respecting European standards on media pluralism, shielding newsrooms from commercial and political influence, and establishing an independent advisory body.

However, the sale of ANN has once again raised concerns about how management changes could impact editorial independence at N1 and TV Nova in Serbia, which are crucial pillars of media pluralism in the broadcast sector.

In Slovenia and Croatia, N1 likewise remains a key source of hard news and watchdog reporting for citizens.

In Montenegro, domestic media experts have also warned that the pending ownership changes could negatively affect the media ecosystem as the country enters the final stage of its EU accession process. Particular concern here focuses on Vijesti, one of Montenegro’s most influential independent media groups, which is part of ANN.

Until the sources of funding for the deal to acquire ANN are made fully transparent, such concerns about outside interests and political meddling will linger, both in Serbia and across the region.

Call for enhanced transparency and scrutiny

Ahead of a pending regulatory assessment of the takeover of United Media’s assets in Luxemburg, which is scheduled for the second half of 2026, IPI therefore joins other international press freedom organisations in calling for strong national and EU-level scrutiny, including the sources of funding for the deal used by EFMI and Alpac Capital.

A pending assessment by the Luxembourg Independent Audiovisual Authority (ALIA) on behalf of a government Ministry should examine the potential impact of the buyout on independent journalism at the affected media titles, as required by new rules under Article 22 of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) on media mergers and acquisitions.

A draft media bill implementing this element of EMFA has yet to be fully adopted by Parliament in Luxembourg, but will hopefully be approved in time for this important regulatory scrutiny.

On 18 August, ALIA confirmed that the transaction has not yet been granted approval and that the process of issuing an opinion on the takeover of ANN is ongoing.

In the meantime, the European Board for Media Services, a new EMFA-established institution of European media regulators, should publish its own assessment of the acquisition of ANN by EFMI/Alpac, with a particular focus on the wider implications of this deal on independent journalism in EU Member States Croatia and Slovenia.

IPI also calls on the European Commission and the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee to closely monitor this situation and raise alarm over any developments which could hinder the advancement of media pluralism and press freedom in the fragile media ecosystems of the Western Balkans.

In the wake of reported meetings of Alpac Capital’s CEO and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and the European Council President, in which the acquisition was reportedly discussed, IPI also calls on the EU Commission and EU Council to respond to questions from journalists about these meetings in a transparent manner.

In advance of regulatory scrutiny, IPI also calls on Alpac Capital and its European Future Media Investments arm to be transparent about plans for potential restructuring and potential layoffs, as well as make a public announcement committing to forcefully defending editorial independence at the media titles it seeks to acquire. Alpac Capital and EFMI should also publicly outline their vision for these media outlets, details about their intended business model and their approach to scrutinising political power.

In addition, Alpac Capital should provide the full list of investors in the European Future Media Investments fund, and specifically this €30 million deal for ANN, given the previous involvement of highly controversial and politically-connected investors in the Euronews acquisition.

IPI, which has long researched and documented media capture at the European level, will continue to closely monitor developments regarding ANN and alert EU institutions about threats to press freedom in the region.