European Commission Report on Serbia from October 2021 assessed that, for the first time in several years, there was “limited progress” when it comes to media freedom. Where did that assessment come from and what is the real state of journalism in Serbia? write europeanwesternbalkans.com
Vreme interlocutors assess that “limited progress” does not exist and explain that the situation is much worse in practice than one can conclude from this formulation. The media which point out, as the European Commission does, that Serbia is lagging behind in the fight against corruption and organized crime, rule of law, freedom of expression, and the media and the development of the institutions, are under attack.
What influenced the European Commission was the opening of SOS telephone for journalists, the promise of the Ombudsman that a database of attacks and threats towards media will be set up, but the assessment was primarily based on the adoption of the Action Plan for the implementation of the Media Strategy and the formation of Government’s working group for the safety of journalists in accordance with it.
Everything else remained more or less the same. European Commission Report thus notes further attacks of the authorities on professional or independent media, a rise of threats and pressures, refusal of state media to provide requested information, and insufficient independence of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) and Radio Television of Serbia (RTS).
Perhaps the term “limited progress” from the European Commission Report can be accepted if it is based on a silent admission by the authorities that there are serious problems with the media picture in Serbia. Relevant journalists’ associations have been pointing out these problems for many years and they are not unknown to Brussels. This is why the authorities in Belgrade tend to maintain a declarative connection to European integration with its activities.
Overall, the progress reported in the European Commission’s report is indeed limited. If Serbia really came closer to the European Union that way, the progress must have been detected by a microscope.
