BFMI supports the European Parliament’s call to suspend EU funding to Serbia if the government fails to implement key electoral and media reforms
The Balkan Free Media Initiative (BFMI) welcomes the European Parliament's call for an independent investigation into the irregularities in Serbia's recent elections and the suspension of EU funding in light of serious breaches of the rule of law in the country.
According to MEPs, the latest Serbian parliamentary and local elections held on 17 December 2023 were marked by numerous procedural deficiencies which fell “below the expected standards for an EU candidate country.”
The resolution condemned the absence of media pluralism during the election campaign; the erosion of press freedom under President Vučić; and the abundant unethical and biased reporting in favour of incumbents as crucial reasons for the election's irregularities.
Since its foundation, BFMI has warned that growing state intervention in the Serbian media landscape threatens democracy and peace in the country. Our latest report on ‘Defunding Disinformation in the Balkans’ finds that the pro-government media in Serbia regularly promotes pro-Kremlin disinformation, hate speech and attacks against civil society and opposition forces.
BFMI supports the European Parliament’s call to suspend EU funding to Serbia if the government fails to implement key electoral and media reforms. Any financial support to Serbia should be contingent upon advances in media freedom.
The European Union must send a strong signal to Serbia and other accession countries, that blatant efforts to undermine democratic values will not be tolerated.
