Nemec to N1: If Vucic wants into EU, now’s the time, if not, he’s toying with us

Nemec recently visited Belgrade together with his colleague Vladimir Bilcik where he attended a series of meetings. Asked to comment on the current situation in Serbia, Nemec said changes are necessary.

“The positive thing is that everyone wants change. The negative thing is that no one wants to change. People in the streets are a big change. The politicians should listen to them. A lot of what they are demanding is what we have already said in the European Parliament report. In the resolution we raised the main issues that potential elections cannot close. Those include media pluralism, the issue of the fifth national broadcasting frequency and that of the electronic media regulator’s objectivity. If this changes, maybe the politics in Serbia will also change. We would also like for the rhetoric in the Parliament to change. I saw that there is still no one who would say ‘people, let’s calm down, let’s come to an agreement,” said Nemec.

Nemec said he has great expectations that this will happen in the near future.

“We are really in a difficult situation, I am not just talking about Serbia but about the entire region. What happened was shocking for the whole society. It is our responsibility for something in society to change, for tensions to de-escalate,” said Nemec.

In the light of the messages contained in European Parliament resolutions on Serbia that are being repeated for years, by Tanja Fajon and Vladimir Bilcik as well, Nemec said he was certain that people in Serbia can now see that the “European Union (EU) is on their side.”

“This tells us that people can now see that we are saying the same things that they are saying in the streets. We can’t, but they can change the situation in Serbia…We are really worried about the situation. Difficult times call for important decisions. Now is the time for important decisions” said Nemec, adding that for the first time European MEPs did not only speak with politicians in Belgrade but also sent a strong message to the people in the streets.

Asked if he thinks this message has reached the people since there is no European Union flag at the protests, Nemec said he now saw for the first time in Serbian media the topics they discussed with Serbian politicians.

“The coalition is very powerful, both in the media and in the Parliament. They should agree with the opposition on what the priorities are, and that’s not elections, changes in society are a priority,” he added.

Nemec said he would like to see Serbia in the European family.

Commenting on the reporter’s remark that the media scene in Serbia is worse than ever before, that the prosecution and police are not doing their job (as seen on the example of the trespassing on N1 grounds), that the parliament has become a source of hate speech, Nemec repeated what he had said in Belgrade – that the Serbian President plays a key role.

“I think that the person who can change this is the president of the republic. If he is sincere in his intention to join the European community, now is the time. If not, then he is just toying with us,” said Nemec.