Palmer: U.S. Concerned Over Current Trends In Serbia

Matthew Palmer (BETA/Milos Miskov)

The U.S. secretary of state's special envoy for the Western Balkans, Matthew Palmer, has stated that the U.S. was concerned over the current trends in Serbia.

Speaking at the webinar about events in the Western Balkans, organized by the Balkan Insider portal from Washington, Palmer assessed that the recent election in Serbia had not provided many choices, as conveyed by the Voice of America.

"We wanted the opposition to take part – but it said the election conditions were not fair enough for it to participate. We are worried about the lack of opportunity for the opposition parties and their representatives to appear in the media equally. That particularly applies to the public broadcaster – RTS TV. We would like some changes to happen and that Serbia's public has a chance to choose among different options," the State Department's special representative for the Western Balkans stated.

Commenting on the announced investigation of individuals and non-government organizations by the Bureau for the Prevention of Money laundering, Palmer said that the investigation of financial transactions of some of the NGOs and journalists would not help Serbia on its proclaimed path to membership in the European Union.