The European Parliament expressed “concerns about the appointment of Aleksandar Vulin as the Director of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) in Serbia”.

In the 2022 Commission Report on Serbia, the MEPs argue that Vulin is well-known for his anti-EU and pro-Kremlin rhetoric and in the past has shared with the Russian authorities, information about meetings of the Russian opposition in exile. There is also concern about the allegations of wiretapping of members of the Russian opposition in Belgrade by the Serbian authorities.

The European Parliament also reiterated their concern about the dominant market position of Telekom Srbija, where the majority stakeholder is the state, and about the allegations that the ruling party is using it to increase its influence over the media market in Serbia. Concerns are expressed about any possible state financing of Telekom Srbija, which gives the company an unfair competitive advantage and contributes to the declining condition of the independent media in Serbia, while urging the Commission to look into the European Investment Bank’s loan of 70 million euros to Telekom Srbija in view of the alleged abuse of its dominant market position.