European Parliament adopts Tonino Picula’s Resolution on Serbia

Key areas requiring improvement include improving internal political dialogue, rule of law and anti-corruption reforms, reaching a comprehensive normalization agreement with Kosovo, and full alignment with European Union’s (EU) foreign policy.

The resolution, authored by EP rapporteur for Serbia Tonino Picula, was adopted during the Strasbourg session with 419 votes in favor, 113 against, and 88 abstentions.

Picula’s report and Resolution provide EP’s response to the 2023 and 2024 European Commission Reports on Serbia, but also reflect recent developments in the country, including student protests, which are cited as raising serious concerns about the state of democracy and the rule of law.

The text emphasizes that ensuring the independence of key institutions, including media regulators such as the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM), and full implementation of all outstanding and recent recommendations by the OSCE/ODIHR and the Council of Europe bodies on electoral reform in a transparent and inclusive process and well ahead of any new elections, remain of critical importance.

The Resolution expresses deep concern over the systemic issues highlighted by the student and other protests in Serbia, such as issues relating to civil liberties, separation of powers, corruption, environmental protection, institutional and financial transparency (particularly regarding infrastructure projects), and accountability;

The European Parliament affirms that the students’ demands are in line with the reforms expected of Serbia on its EU path.

It also notes that the mass protest held on March 15 in Belgrade was the largest protest in Serbia’s modern history, and calls for an impartial investigation into allegations that unlawful crowd-control technology was used against demonstrators, resulting in multiple injuries.