Fajon, Bilcik concerned over resignation from Serbian media watchdog body

MEPs Tanja Fajon and Vladimir Bilcik said that the REM was in the focus of the first stage of the dialogue between the Serbian authorities and opposition parties. “REM's work was an important issue during the first phase of the Inter Party Dialogue, with as many as four measures focusing on its improvement. The recent resignation of Slobodan Cvejić from the Council of the REM is worrying. Judging from the reactions, a part of the public still does not have trust in the impartiality of REM's work, which was and has remained one of the commitments of the Inter-Party Dialogue” they said in a press release.

"As facilitators of the Inter Party Dialogue in Serbia on behalf of the European Parliament, we would like to stress the importance of trust and confidence all political forces and the citizens should have in the work of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM),” it said and called the REM, its Council and the Serbian President, to do everything in their power to foster trust in the independence and professionalism of this institution and refrain from contributing to the narrative on divisions on the media landscape.

“The citizens of Serbia deserve free, objective, full and timely information on the most important issues in their country,” Fajon and Bilcik said.

The press release expressed the readiness of the European Parliament to continue facilitating the dialogue on the REM and the media landscape in general as soon as possible. “There is still room for improvement in this area, especially given the fast-approaching national elections in 2022, as announced by the Serbian President," it said.