BELGRADE, 18.09.2018. – European Parliament (EP) encourages Belgrade to upgrade the freedom of speech and media in the country, David McAllister, the European Union Rapporteur for Serbia has said, the Danas daily reported on Thursday.
The EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee will discuss his report later in the day in Brussels.
McAllister said that threats, violence and intimidation of journalists and media, including harassment and scare tactics through court case “remain issues that cause concern.”
The EP thus called upon Serbia’s officials to be consistent in public condemnation of any intimidation of journalists and to stay away from interfering with the media work, including the election campaigns.
The report emphasised the importance of “the opposition work in a democracy.” It says that “the opposition leaders should not be subjected to slender.”
It also warns that “some politicians’ public rhetorics are misused to galvanised the rise of radicalism.”