UK parliament "told reforms in Serbia are on paper only"

The upper house of the British Parliament has warned about the instability of democracy and of the rule of law in the Western Balkans.

This is contained in the "UK and the future of the Western Balkans" report published by the Select Committee on International Relations.

"In Serbia, we were told that reforms required by the EU were made on paper only - their implementation changed nothing. For example, state media companies had been privatized to meet EU requirements but the newly privatized companies had been bought by those close to the ruling party, leaving them effectively functioning as state media," the report says.

The document also states that it is "concerning that support for EU membership in the Western Balkans has weakened," and adds:

"Statements by senior figures in the EU such as the president of the Commission postponing accession to some...