Tanja Fajon, an MEP, said on Friday a day after the European Parliament (EP) adopted its latest report on Serbia, that the county faced a lot of work before joining the European Union.

„Serbia has a lot to do on its road to the EU membership, particularly in fighting corruption, judiciary and the respect of freedom of speech. This is not just my or my political group’s opinion. The whole EP confirmed that view in Serbia’s report,“ Fajon, a member of the EP team that would take part in Serbia’s inter-party dialogue, told Nova S TV.

Commenting on the report, Fajon said the mentioned cases were of great importance, which was the reason to include them in the report.

„That has been a message to Serbia’s authorities to secure transparent investigations and prevent corruption at all levels in every way. I firmly believe that Serbia’s ultimate goal is to join the EU, but as it has been said many times, the preconditions are known – organised crime and corruption, especially at high places, don’t belong to the bloc and should be condemned. No one should turn a blind eye to that,“ Fajon said.

Speaking about the state officials’ attacks on media and NGOs, she said that such things should not be allowed in any democracy.

„Unfortunately, similar attempts could be seen in some EU member states. The EU should be stricter and unmerciful regarding the governments which undermine the democracy within the Union and in the candidate countries,“

Fajon said that the EP had discussed attacks on media in Hungary, Poland and her native Slovenia. That is a great shame, and we cannot ignore that problem. The rules are the same for all and should be respected because the ultimate victims are people,“ Fajon told Nova S.