January 16 (SeeNews) - Recent events in the Western Balkans have demonstrated a need for continued engagement in the region by major democracies, independent watchdog organisation Freedom House said.
"In Serbia, EU leaders’ tolerance of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic's authoritarian tendencies allowed him to further sideline the opposition and undermine what remains of the country’s independent media after winning the country’s presidency in April," Freedom House said in its Freedom in the World 2018 report, published on its website.
Freedom House points out the downward trend in Serbia, caused by "President Aleksandar Vucic’s continued consolidation of power, including through opaque party financing methods, politicization of law enforcement, and attempts to undermine critical journalists with financial investigations and smears in government-friendly media."
On the other hand, mediation by the US and the EU in Macedonia helped resolve a years-long political crisis, paving the way for a new, democratically elected government, Freedom House said.
As a result, Macedonia is placed in the report's "Countries to Watch" list, which includes states which may be approaching important turning points in their democratic trajectory and deserve special scrutiny during the coming year.
"A democratically elected, ethnically inclusive government is seeking to root out corruption and other systemic abuses that grew worse under its scandal-plagued predecessor, and it could even resolve the lingering “name dispute” with Greece that has impeded the country’s path toward EU membership," the report reads.
Slovenia is the only country in the region considered to be free in terms of media freedom, and Southeast Europe's leader in the ranking.
On the opposite end, Kosovo is the region's worst performer in the ranking, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Among EU members, Bulgaria has the second-lowest score, following Hungary.
Further details on the scores of countries in Southeast Europe (SEE) follow:
Country |
Freedom Rating (1-7; 1 = most free) |
Political Rights (1-7; 1 = most free) |
Civil Liberties (1-7; 1 = most free) |
Aggregate Score (1-100; 100 = most free) |
Media Freedom |
Albania |
3 |
3 |
3 |
68 |
Partly free |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
4 |
4 |
4 |
55 |
Partly free |
Bulgaria |
2 |
2 |
2 |
80 |
Partly free |
Croatia |
1.5 |
1 |
2 |
86 |
Partly free |
Kosovo |
3.5 |
3 |
4 |
52 |
Partly free |
Macedonia |
n.a. |
n.a. |
n.a. |
58 |
Partly free |
Moldova |
3 |
3 |
3 |
61 |
Partly free |
Montenegro |
3 |
3 |
3 |
67 |
Partly free |
Romania |
2 |
2 |
2 |
84 |
Partly free |
Serbia |
2.5 |
3 |
2 |
73 |
Partly free |
Slovenia |
1 |
1 |
1 |
93 |
Free |
Source: Freedom in the World 2018