The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is considering setting up an investment fund in Serbia to support the media. This is stated in the request for information published by the organization. The document is available to RT.

“One of the areas of the proposed program is the creation of an independent and sustainable media investment fund with the goal of providing an unlimited funding / investment capital program for business development to professional media and other media market participants,” the USAID request explains.

As indicated in the American agency, the media must be strengthened in order to ensure stability and strengthen the Euro-Atlantic integration of Serbia.

“USAID's goal in Serbia is to promote the country's stability and Euro-Atlantic integration. The Agency believes that for the development of stable and democratic Serbia it is necessary to ensure the reliability and objectivity of the information. In this regard, USAID is implementing several programs aimed at strengthening the media sector in Serbia, ”the document says.

Small and medium-sized media in Serbia lack funding, according to USAID and offer to solve this problem. As follows from the request, the agency intends to provide the new fund with initial capital and guarantees for the first losses, but other investors will also have to support it.

Media that can provide “objective information”, have a significant audience or growth potential, and also need investments, can use the funds of the fund.

“A key component of USAID’s support for a media investment fund will be ethical investment criteria that will be developed in collaboration with other interested investors to support the development of professional media / information companies, expand public access to reliable and objective information, and / or develop critical thinking skills among citizens ", - say the agency staff.

According to Vladimir Olenchenko, a senior fellow at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, the United States is trying to create a mechanism that will officially finance loyal media in Serbia.

“Only those publications that support American initiatives will qualify as objective and receive funds. We are talking about interfering in the internal processes of a foreign state and trying to influence them with the help of money, ”he commented on the USAID initiative in a conversation with RT.

Meanwhile, Stanislav Byszok, executive director of the CIS-EMO monitoring organization, noted that Serbia has not yet fully decided on its Euro-Atlantic choice - it does not belong to either the European Union or NATO. In this regard, Washington is trying to strengthen the western course of Belgrade and deploy it against Moscow.

“If the goal of the US initiative is to increase Serbia’s sympathy for NATO, then it will not be achieved, as the country has hard historical experience with the alliance. But most likely, we are talking about rapprochement with the EU, because involvement in European affairs implies less solidarity with Russia, ”the expert said.

  • USAID logo
  • Reuters
  • © Cheryl Ravelo

Intervention programs

The idea of ​​creating a fund is being developed in close cooperation with the already existing USAID program to strengthen Serbian media, designed for four years - from 2017 to 2021. Within its framework, it is planned to bring Serbian media to EU standards. In total, almost $ 6.5 million was allocated for the program.

Last year, Washington was about to launch another project that would help the Serbs to understand the local media landscape. It was noted that local media were “forced” to distribute cheap and popular content in order to maintain their existence, and this influenced the political views of the audience. Therefore, the United States decided to provide Serbia with “reliable information.” Through the Agency for International Development, the States also implement a number of programs to combat corruption, promote judicial reform and support civil society in Serbia.

In addition, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) * operates in the Balkan state. According to the 2018 report, the structure allocated over $ 650 thousand to various non-governmental organizations operating in Serbia.

The money was spent working with the media, supporting independent journalists and young activists, as well as promoting Euro-Atlantic integration.

One of the grant recipients, the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies, was to find the “channels of influence” of Russia and China, and then inform Serbian and foreign politicians about it.

As noted by political scientist Vladimir Olenchenko, the States consider it necessary to influence states that have a historical connection with Russia.

“The Americans have an obsession - to influence countries that have historically been close to the Russian Federation - Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, the states of Transcaucasia, Serbia. The United States invests large amounts in order to acquire their loyalty and maintain friendly relations. But this is an unnatural process. As soon as the money runs out or priorities change, the situation will turn around, ”Olenchenko said.

Balanced approach

Meanwhile, Belgrade pursues a balanced foreign policy and develops relations with both the West and Russia. According to the head of the Serbian Foreign Ministry, Ivica Dacic, the republic seeks to join the European Union, but at the same time wants to maintain partnerships with Moscow.

“Our strategic course is to become a member of the European Union, this is completely natural and logical, since the EU countries account for almost two-thirds of our total turnover, the largest investments come from the EU, geographically and culturally we belong to this region ... However, we consider “That our strategic course should not prejudice cooperation with others, especially with Russia, which is our traditional friend and partner,” he said in an interview with TASS.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin and Serbian President Alexander Vucic during a meeting in Sochi
  • Reuters
  • © Shamil Zhumatov

Serbian head Alexander Vučić also repeatedly stated the importance of bilateral contacts with Russia. On December 4, during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, he expressed gratitude for the support of Serbia.

“Once again, I would like to show you great appreciation for the continued support of Serbia in maintaining our territorial integrity, independence, sovereignty, your support at the international level,” said Vučić.

Putin, in turn, during the negotiations noted that the countries are actively cooperating both in the political sphere, and in the field of security and economy.

Recall that the Russian Federation and Serbia have common energy projects. The Turkish Stream gas pipeline will pass through the territory of the Balkan Republic.

Countries are also increasing trade. From January to September 2019, this indicator increased by more than 9% compared to the same indicator of the previous year.

Defense cooperation is also developing. Earlier, Russia transferred Serbia, as part of military-technical assistance, to MiG-29 fighters, Mi-17 helicopters, and BRDM-2. States regularly conduct joint exercises.

According to experts interviewed by RT, Belgrade maintains friendly relations with Moscow. However, this rapprochement of states does not suit Washington.

“The US is confident that Russia will be able to weaken by tearing partners from it. Therefore, Serbia is not the ultimate goal, but only an instrument, ”concluded Vladimir Olenchenko.

* The National Endowment for Democracy is an organization whose activity is deemed undesirable in the territory of the Russian Federation by decision of the Prosecutor General's Office of July 28, 2015.