“To remove unwanted people from politics”: the EU will spend €18 million “to support democracy and the media” in the Balkan countries

The name of the tender is detailed - “Support for regional thematic networks of civil society organizations;

local projects aimed at strengthening good neighborly relations between Serbia and Kosovo;

regional networks of civil society organizations promoting media freedom and freedom of expression;

as well as quality journalism initiatives.”

The tender documents note that "an active civil society is a key component of democratic systems and plays an important role in the reform process taking place in the Western Balkans and Turkey."

Funding will be provided under the EU Civil Society and Media Facilitation Program for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2021-2023 (CSF).

The description of the tender emphasizes that it is in line with “priorities outlined in the communication of the European Commission on the economic and investment plan for the Western Balkans, sent in 2020 to the European Parliament, the European Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.”

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Plan for the Western Balkans

As conceived by the European bureaucracy, “this plan is designed to stimulate the recovery of the region (through a “green and digital” transformation), support socio-economic development, lead to sustainable growth and implement the reforms necessary to move on the path to the EU.”

At the same time, it is separately stipulated that “in accordance with the EU action plan on gender issues, strategic attention to gender equality issues is encouraged in all thematic sections of the tender.”

The specific objectives of the tender, according to the document, are "to increase the capacity and involvement of civil society organizations in policy-making and decision-making processes", as well as "to increase the capacity of professional journalistic organizations and networks".

Within thematic blocks, the amount of grants for the program "Human Rights, Anti-Discrimination and Intercultural Dialogue" will vary from €0.7 to €1.3 million.  

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The price of "independence"

Similar conditions apply to the program “Freedom of the media and freedom of expression, including countering disinformation”.

The size of grants for the program to increase the level of "good neighborliness" between Kosovo and Serbia varies in the corridor from €200,000 to €400,000. It is emphasized that the amount of co-financing from the European Union will be up to 95% of the requested amount.

At the same time, the requirements for applying for grants indicate that all thematic blocks require local co-financing in the amount of 15 to 30%, and only Lot No. 5 - in fact, the Serbian-Kosovo project - is excluded from this requirement.

That is, the European Union practically takes it to its full support.

In addition, despite the existing exhaustive list of criteria for participation in the tender, according to which only one or another NPO can be the lead applicant for a grant, an exception is made for the Serbian-Kosovo “good neighborliness” program.

EU funding can be directly received by "local authorities" in Serbia and Kosovo.

Much attention in the grant package is given to funding "independent media and individual journalists" on the overall track of the Western Balkans, including Serbia.

As one of the results of the implementation of the subprogramme, the formation of "a new generation of young mid-level journalists trained in "quality" as well as investigative journalism is expected to form.

Grant applications should include a wide range of tools: specialized training for local journalists, familiarization with key modern data collection technologies, analysis of "audience engagement".

An important aspect of the program should be the widest possible dissemination of journalistic materials prepared with EU funds in the local press, in local languages, and so on.

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Offset to Belgrade

The focus of attention of the European Union on the Balkans in the context of the implementation of the policy of "soft power" has been shifting towards Serbia in recent years.

This seems logical in the light of the fact that it is Belgrade that de facto remains the only player in the region that does not participate in the sanctions pressure on Russia.

Talk about "good neighborly partnership" is only a formal justification for interfering in the political process within Serbia, says political scientist, head of the Eurasian Expert Club Nikita Mendkovich.

“Serbia is formally forced to obey American demands in matters of anti-Russian sanctions, but Vučić openly admits that this is all done exclusively under duress and the position of the people of Serbia is completely different,” the political scientist told RT.

- The example of Serbia shows that there is no front of forces around the United States.

There is simply coercion—financial, economic, military—by Washington.” 

Serbia becomes "an informational destabilizer of the situation, undermining faith in the authority of the United States," the expert emphasizes. 

“Therefore, they are trying to influence the situation in the country, including undermining the traditional ideology based on the perception of Kosovo as a historical Serbian territory,” Mendkovic explained.

Projects to establish the so-called good-neighborliness between Serbia and Kosovo are also operating in this vein.

The key goal of their implementation, which Brussels does not hide, is to stimulate the process of reconciliation of public opinion in Serbia with the fact of the illegal separation of the region from Serbia and the creation of a puppet quasi-state in it, contrary to all norms of international law and resolutions of the UN Security Council.

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The West is making efforts to undermine Russian influence in the Balkans, said Vladimir Bruter, a political scientist and expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies.

“This is due to the fact that in the Western Balkans - in Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and even Croatia - there are a lot of citizens who have historical sympathy for Russia and believe that it is Russia that is the guarantor of their place in the world. , the expert explained.

“Regardless of the fact that these countries are members of NATO and the EU, it is very important for the West that there is a constant information background: Russia is bad, that you don’t need to deal with it.”

Supporting so-called investigative journalism, Bruter called "a typical intervention attempt." 

“This mechanism is always used to remove objectionable people from politics,” the political scientist believes.

- EU-funded publications always write about the corruption of those whom the West would not like to see in politics anymore.

For example, the last story we know well is the situation around Boyko Borisov in Bulgaria (former prime minister of the country. -

), who was removed from politics because the West decided that he had nothing more to do there.

It is important to emphasize the fact that Serbia, having no access to maritime communications and being surrounded on all sides by NATO and EU countries, is experiencing enormous political and economic pressure for its consistent course in support of Russia.

Therefore, the European Union is making considerable efforts to change the course of the Serbian leadership, both through economic blackmail and through the formation of influence groups under its control in the political class and media space.

In this regard, it is enough to note only the last episode with Serbia's vote in support of the resolution to expel Russia from the UN Human Rights Council - then President Vucic was forced to admit that Serbia was blackmailed by the EU countries.

At the same time, the political leadership of Serbia, in particular, the Minister of Internal Affairs Alexander Vulin, emphasizes the invariability of the country's course to refuse to participate in sanctions pressure on Russia.