Reporters Without Borders: Serbia, megaphone of Russian propaganda – EU calls for urgent measures

Serbia is serving as a mouthpiece for Russian propaganda and ignoring EU sanctions against Russian media, Pavol Salai, head of the Balkans office of Reporters Without Borders, told AFP in a statement. The international organization called on the European Union to hold Serbia, which is a candidate for EU membership, accountable for its role in spreading pro-Kremlin disinformation in the region, BTA quoted him as saying.

According to a report published earlier this month by Reporters Without Borders, the Russian media company RT uses its Belgrade bureau, known as RT Balkans, to spread disinformation in favor of the Russian regime. Although “RT” is banned in the European Union following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it continues to operate freely in Serbia.

“RT Balkans did not bring Russian propaganda to Serbia, but adapted the Kremlin’s discourse to the audience in the country so that it could spread more easily throughout the region,” says the report by Reporters Without Borders. By allowing this to happen, the Serbian government is actually helping to spread pro-Kremlin narratives, believes Pavol Salaj.

The Serbian authorities have not officially commented on the allegations, but Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who maintains close relations with Moscow, said that Serbia is an “island of freedom”.

The report prompted a sarcastic response from RT Balkans, which said: “We only created RT Balkans to annoy Reporters Without Borders.”

Serbia has not imposed sanctions against Russia for its war of aggression in Ukraine and continues to resist maintaining relations with its traditional ally.

So that media such as “RT” can continue to work unhindered. According to Reporters Without Borders, this is a serious breach of the European standards that must be met by candidates for EU membership.

The European Union has responded by stating that Serbia must take urgent action to combat the manipulation and interference of the Russian media. EU spokesman Peter Stano told AFP on Tuesday after being asked to comment on the report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

“The European Union has imposed sanctions on Russian state media, including RT, whose broadcasting within and from the EU has been suspended,” he said.

“These media, including RT in all its forms, have become an instrument” of the Kremlin in its war against Ukraine ”and a channel for the dissemination and manipulation of information.”

Stano’s comments came a day after Pavol Szalai, head of Reporters Without Borders’ Europe and Balkans department, told AFP news agency that Serbia was strengthening the Kremlin’s propaganda by ignoring EU sanctions against Russian media.

“As an EU candidate country, Serbia must also take urgent measures to combat the manipulation and interference of foreign information,” Stano said.

“Serbia’s lack of alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy in this regard is a serious problem that affects accession negotiations,” he continued.

Belgrade, which is historically close to Russia and dependent on Moscow for gas supplies, has not approved sanctions since February 2022 /The Geopost/.