A report on Serbia just passed by the European Parliament includes comments critical of the country’s media industry.
Among the points it makes are that the regulator REM recently awarded four national TV licences to channels that “have a history of violating journalistic standards, including the use of hate speech and misleading the public”. It goes on to call for the award of a fifth licence to be made “through a transparent and impartial process without unnecessary delay and in compliance with international media freedom standards”.
The report also voices concerns about the dominant market position of the incumbent telco Telekom Srbija and the funding it receives from the Serbian state, its majority owner. Furthermore, it urges the European Commission to look into a loan of €70 million Telekom Srbija received from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
In addition, the report calls for full financial and operational independence for REM and the other industry regulator RATEL. It also pulls no punches in condemning the opening of an RT (formerly Russia Today) office in Belgrade, an action that runs counter to EU policy, and says it is “deeply concerned about the spread of disinformation about the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine”.
Given that Serbia has been a candidate country for EU membership since 2009, this report’s comments on its media industry do it few favours. However, some if not most will almost certainly be dismissed by the government and of course Telekom Srbija, which sees itself as a fair commercial player.
Two thoughts come to mind. The first is that a few members of the EU in Central and Eastern Europe could easily find themselves facing similar criticisms were they to once again to be candidate countries. The second is that of all the countries currently hoping to join the EU, one in particular – Ukraine – is arguably making the biggest effort to align its media with European norms and values.
Such an effort will probably also be required by Serbia if it is to join the EU, though enthusiasm to become a member is believed to be waning.
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