RFE: EC notes little or no progress in Serbia report

The report that RFE says it had access to before its public presentation on Wednesday, says that Serbia should invest more effort in the process of normalizing Belgrade-Pristina relations by making compromises and meeting the obligations it accepted in the EU-facilitated Kosovo dialogue. The report notes that Serbia remains engaged in the Kosovo dialogue but needs to show greater commitment.

It says that Serbia and Kosovo are expected to be more constructive to enable the start of negotiations on a comprehensive legally binding agreement to normalize relations which is the fundamental condition on their European paths. Both sides risk losing important opportunities if they don’t achieve progress, the report warns.

The report calls Serbia to investigate the violence against KFOR troops at the protests in May, adding that the priority is restoring the active participation of the Kosovo Serbs in local government, the police and judiciary in northern Kosovo. It said that the withdrawal of the Serbs from Kosovo institutions was in violation of Serbia’s Dialogue obligations.

The European Commission notes that Serbia’s parliament now includes the opposition parties that boycotted elections in 2020 but warns of tension between those parties and the ruling coalition. It says that parliament does not have an annual schedule with sessions called with just 24 warning. It says that oversight of the authorities is weak.

The progress report says that Serbia has made limited progress on freedom of expression but expresses concern over threats, intimidation, hate speech and violence against journalists along with a rise in the number SLAPP suits especially by public officials. Frequent statements by high-ranking officials about investigative journalism creates a challenging environment, it says and adds that media coverage of criminal trials are excessively limited by law.

The report says that the new laws will reinforce the independence of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM).
It expresses concern over political and economic influence over the media and called for urgent measures to counter anti-EU narratives and foreign manipulation of information especially in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

The report says verbal assaults and slander campaigns by public officials have continued against several civil society organizations. It notes that the Parliament administrative committee failed to note violations of the code of conduct despite verbal assaults by MPs. Those civil society organizations have been under pressure, especially those that took part in protests against the glorification of war criminals, in support of environmental protection and the Serbia Against Violence protests.

The European Commission warns that some political parties and individuals, even at ministerial level, have continued supporting convicted war criminals who, in turn, continued spreading hate speech. The report says that some politicians are denying the Srebrenica genocide with impunity. According to the report, Serbia has not shown true commitment in investigating and trying war crimes and is publicly disputing international war crimes court judgements.

The report expresses concern over the judiciary because of pressure and notes that steps have been taken to reduce political pressure on the judiciary but with no visible reduction of influence on judges and prosecutors.

It notes that Serbia has achieved limited progress in implementing the recommendations made in the previous report on combating corruption. It says that corruption is widespread and remains a cause for concern. It says that strong political will is needed to combat corruption along with a strong response from the judiciary against high-level corruption. It also notes a slight increase in the number of new investigations and sentences in corruption cases at high level with a drop in new indictments. Serbia is called to set up an efficient coordination mechanism for prevention and repression of corruption.

The European Commission also notes limited progress in combating organized crime, especially in preventing migrant smuggling and human trafficking. The report notes slight rise in financial investigations and seizure of assets as well as in new investigations and indictments with a drop in sentences, especially for money laundering. It warns that seizures are not systematically implemented and that pro-active investigations and money flow tracking are still not customary. According to the report, understanding and approach in investigations is better and the police, prosecutors and judges are aware of the importance of consistent tracking of money and the use of circumstantial evidence. It says that Serbia should adapt its approach from focusing on low- and medium-level cases to high-profile cases aimed at breaking up big and international organizations.

The report notes that Serbia has not aligned its foreign policies with those of the EU and that some activities and statements run counter to EU policies. It says that Serbia did not impose restrictive measures against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and maintains high-level relations with Moscow. It calls official Belgrade to align with EU common foreign and security policies and prevent any attempt to use Serbia’s territory to circumvent restrictive EU measures and foreign intervention and misinformation. The report notes that Serbia has also not fully aligned its visa policies with those of the EU but has introduced visas for some countries whose citizens require visas to enter the EU.

The European Commission says that every agreement that Serbia signs with other countries must be compatible with the Acquis Communitaire with guarantees that Serbia can terminate them when it joins the EU.

The annual report, the single most important document for EU candidate countries, notes that Serbia has signed trade agreements with China and other countries that fail to meet EU standards.