Members of the European Parliament on Tuesday discussed the situation in Serbia following the November collapse of a concrete canopy at the recently renovated main train station in Novi Sad, which claimed 15 lives and sparked months of student and civic protests against corruption.
Their message to the Serbian citizens and authorities is that everyone must have the right to freedom of assembly, and they called for an investigation into all incidents involving students and citizens who are protesting in Serbia.
In the debate held in the European Parliament in Strasbourg at the request of the Social Democrats, a majority of MEPs expressed support for the protests. Marta Kos, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, said that citizen participation plays a vital role in the development of democratic societies.
“As underlined in my open letter published last week as an answer to the numerous letters which the Commission received, fundamental values are at the core of our common European project, which the European Union expects all candidate countries to embrace and respect. This includes freedom of assembly, which should be exercised peacefully and in accordance with the law, no violence should be tolerated, and we expect the Serbian police to continue ensuring the safety of the demonstrators,” she said.
Kos emphasized that the Commission has expressed concerns about the incidents against demonstrators that have been witnessed, and expects a full impartial and speedy investigation into these attacks.
“Language inciting violence and lack of mutual respect also cannot be the solution. We have expressed concerns about the authorities’ treatment of a group of peaceful civil society activists from EU member states and candidate countries who were detained and later asked by the authorities to leave Serbia for representing a security risk. We have also expressed concerns about reports of illegal access to personal data of citizens and activists and publication of such data. This is not acceptable and needs to be followed up by the competent national authorities. Furthermore, spreading disinformation, hostile political rhetoric including against the EU, against our citizens, against some respectful members of the European Parliament, and lately against the EU delegation which holds dialogue to political and civil society stakeholders, has no place and will have no place on the path to EU integration. In these circumstances, it is important that conditions are established for an inclusive dialogue involving all stakeholders, political actors, institutions, members of civil society and students and professors to address the concerns and achieve consensus on reforms that are necessary for the European future of Serbia. This will strengthen Serbian in society and consolidate Serbia’s future within the EU,” said Kos.
According to the Commissioner, supporting Serbia in advancing on its European path and becoming part of the European Union remains a European Commission priority. However, she said, the path to EU membership encompasses reforms which enshrine European values not only in legislation, but also in practice.
“What is important is that it is precisely Serbia’s path toward the European Union that offers solutions to many of the issues that are in the heart of the requests of the protesters in Serbia today. The reforms that we want to see during the accession process will strengthen the fight against corruption, ensure the independence of the judiciary, accountability of institutions and transparent public procurement, promote media freedom and pluralism, and improve electoral conditions. They should also ensure an enabling environment for civil society and build resilience against disinformation and information manipulation. All this represents the European way of Serbia, as it was well noted in the latest country progress report. If properly implemented, these reforms will have a transformative power that will benefit all citizens of Serbia and bring their country to the European Union. Serbia’s leadership has repeatedly committed to these reforms, we are looking forward to the implementation of these commitments. In this geopolitical situation, the EU member states also ask for progressive alignment with the Common Foreign and Security Policy and they have all legitimate right to ask for that, as we are expecting that future members states stand with us,” emphasized Marta Kos.
European Parliament (EP) rapporteur for Serbia Tonino Picula expressed his support to the young people in Serbia who are demonstrating, emphasizing that the Novi Sad tragedy sparked many protests that have spread across Serbia. “This is a political crisis, and a political crisis requires a political solution,” he said.
Irena Joveva, MEP, said that young people have been the driving force in Serbia for the past few months and that they are not alone on this path.
“A river of people, growing and becoming more determined, these are the streets of Serbia today. This is Serbia today, which will no longer be silenced, except for those 15 minutes of silence. Now, both young and old are in the streets, artists, professors, workers, veterans, farmers, and many others, all of them united in the desire to change a system filled with corruption and nepotism. They refuse to be a part of that system,” she said.
She ended her speech by addressing the students in Serbian: “So don’t give up, because good will prevail over evil, because a people seeking justice cannot be defeated.”
Matej Tonin, MEP, said that everyone has seen the power and determination of the young people in Serbia, who, as he emphasized, do not want to come to power, but rather seek a different future and a European Serbia.
“Serbian students are the voice of hope and conscience of the entire Balkans. Authoritarian tendencies based on corruption and abuse of power are not only a problem in Serbia. It is a trend throughout the region. Politicians with authoritarian tendencies are trying to help each other. Corruption kills, this is the message from Serbia’s youth. Corruption really does kill. Corruption kills the creative power of society. Corruption kills the rule of law. European values and democracy are not something guaranteed forever. Not even in the EU member states. Ljubljana Mayor (Zoran) Jankovic wrote an open letter to (Serbian) President (Aleksandar) Vucic offering his unconditional support. That is a completely wrong message at this time, and we can interpret it as a denial of the problems currently unfolding in Serbia,” he said.
He added that Serbia needs a European future, and that it is the responsibility of the European Parliament to assist Serbia on its path to the European Union.
