Report of the European Parliament: Russia creates tensions in the countries of the Western Balkans

Russia uses its influence in Serbia by trying to destabilize and interfere in neighboring sovereign states, according to the report adopted by the Committee on Foreign Interference in the European Parliament (EP) on April 26.
Interference in neighboring countries, as stated, goes: in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) through Republika Srpska (RS), in Montenegro through pro-Serbian feelings in the country and the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), and in Kosovo - by exploiting and igniting existing disputes in the north.
It is added that Russia still has significant influence in the Western Balkans and the power to interfere in regional attempts at reconciliation, integration and reforms in the direction of democratization.
"The European Parliament is concerned about the appointment of the director of the BIA, who is known for his anti-EU and pro-Kremlin rhetoric, the Report points out. In the photo, the heads of diplomacy of Serbia and Russia, Aleksandar Vulin and Sergey Lavrov in Moscow in August 2022.
The report on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union (EU), including disinformation, emphasizes the need for the EU to proactively counter the propaganda of malicious actors in the Western Balkans region, "which aims to undermine the interests and values of the EU".
27 representatives in the Committee for Foreign Interference voted for the report, one was against and one abstained. In June, this report will be voted on at the plenary session when it receives a version of the European Parliament's Resolution.
In this report, the region of the Western Balkans is evaluated as an area of strategic and geopolitical competition, and it is emphasized that some countries in the region are prone to destabilization.
Third countries are also said to be exploiting vulnerabilities, including strategic investments and disinformation campaigns; since the stability, security and democratic resilience of the acceding countries are inextricably linked to the security, stability and democratic resilience of the EU.

Dissemination through the media

According to this report, Russia's influence in the Western Balkans should be understood as "part of a broader strategy to promote authoritarianism in Europe."
It is emphasized that pro-Russian attitudes spread through the Serbian and Hungarian media in the Western Balkans. In this regard, concern is expressed due to recent findings that Serbia is "the country most susceptible to malicious foreign influence in the Western Balkans, especially from Russia and China", and that Serbia has not yet introduced sanctions against Russia and has not aligned itself with the EU's foreign policy.
The report welcomes the alignment of certain candidate countries and potential candidates for EU membership and calls on the European Commission to cooperate more closely with member states on the introduction and implementation of sanctions.

Condemnation of the opening of Russia Today Balkans

In particular, the report "strongly condemns" the opening of the Russia Today (RT) office in Belgrade and the launch of its online news service in the Serbian language.
This "enables this malignant actor to spread his misinformation throughout the region".
The Russian state channel Russia Today (RT) began broadcasting in Serbian in November 2022.
The Serbian authorities are invited to comply with the decision of the EU Council on the suspension of the broadcasting activities of Sputnik and RT.
"In clear contrast to the EU sanctions, Serbia, a candidate country for the EU, has become a safe haven for some Russian companies that want to avoid or overcome the sanctions introduced by the EU," the adopted report underlines./RSE/