The European Union (EU) recently broke its silence regarding the escalating situation in Serbia, where mass protests against President Aleksandar Vučić and his government have raised considerable concerns about media freedom. The protests have since erupted into physical violence against some of the country’s last independent journalists. This disturbing trend has led to emergency declarations and urgent calls for action.
Antoinette Nikolova, director of the Balkan Free Media Initiative, has condemned the recent environment for media freedom in Serbia. She sharply criticizes the persecution of journalists and news organizations in her country. Her NGO is leading an international campaign to influence shareholder votes at Promontora de Informaciones SA (PRISA). This media conglomerate happens to own Spain’s largest newspaper, El Pais. The campaign is directed at removing the current PRISA leadership from office. This amendment should go a long way towards establishing a much-needed pro-government television station.
The EU’s response to the situation comes as it grapples with broader challenges to press freedoms across its member states. The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) is an unprecedented attempt by the EU to protect independent journalism. It seeks to standardize laws that protect media pluralism and independence. Hungary’s government has made this fight a centerpiece of their own government’s resistance to the EU. They have petitioned the European Court of Justice against the EMFA’s passage. This ongoing legal battle is a prime example of where media rights have tested the lines of solidarity within the union.
A new report by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) paints a completely different picture. November the countries in the EU where press freedoms are under attack. Italy, in particular, has been singled out for “unprecedented levels of political interference” in its public broadcasting service. This trend is very troubling. It’s an indicator that some powerful EU member states are continuing to roll back support for journalistic independence.
In mid-October 2023, the Serbian government adopted two very controversial laws. Together, these laws will enable state-owned companies to penetrate the media market, breaking down protective barriers established in the wake of the Slobodan Milošević regime. These legislative changes, along with previous ones, have fueled concerns that media independence will be more easily undermined, thus ensuring greater control over how or if information is disseminated.
Incredible though it seems, the EU is apparently gearing up to launch infringement procedures against Hungary and Slovakia for their failure to comply with the EMFA. That hasn’t stopped Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from dazzling EU’s officials. They’re afraid that his government’s moves will give ideas to other European heads of state looking to further bend the narrative of independent media outlets to suit their political ends.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, emphasized the need for urgent reforms in her statement:
“We must take decisive steps towards media freedom, the fight against corruption, and electoral reform.”
The European Union is watching for signposts on whether countries like Hungary and Slovakia will flaunt the EMFA through selective implementation. Member states that are more inclined to authoritarianism and media repression are particularly keenly sensitive to this reply. This continuing attention shows just how desperately unified European action is needed to protect press freedoms.
As the case in Serbia illustrates, independent journalism is under siege. In this region, political patronage still taints the independence of the media. With these protests growing and international watchdogs focusing their eyes on Serbia, the future of media freedom in Serbia hangs in the balance.
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