On the evening of Tuesday 11 February, the European Parliament held a plenary session debate in Strasbourg on the political crisis in Serbia. In the light of current events, the issue of Belgrade’s accession to the EU and the proper implementation of the various necessary reforms were central to the hour-long debate.
The Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adam Szłapka, representing the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU, stressed at the opening of the session that all citizens of Serbia must have “the right to freedom of assembly and association at all levels” - a fundamental right under the Union’s acquis communautaire.
“We will remain vigilant in assessing the political situation in the country and continue to assist Serbia’s EU accession process, which must be based on reforms”, said Adam Szłapka.
Several MEPs then took the floor to express the European Parliament’s support for the demonstrators.
“A political crisis requires political solutions. Electoral reform must precede any new elections”, said Tonino Picula (S&D, Croatian), who urged the EU to “improve its communication” if it wanted the enlargement process to be “credible”.
On the far right of the political spectrum, MEP Annamária Vicsek (PfE, Hungarian) said that the solution to these tensions lay not “in the streets, but in Parliament”, and that the EU should respect Serbia’s “sovereignty” over its internal politics.
Closing the debate, Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement, said that the Commission was closely following developments in Serbia, stressing the fundamental importance of government accountability in democratic societies.
“The Commission has expressed concerns about the incidents against demonstrators that had been witnessed and we expect a full, impartial and speedy investigation (...). 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 asked to leave Serbia because they represented a security risk”, said the Commissioner, referring to the arrest and subsequent expulsion of several activists who had taken part in a workshop for NGOs in Belgrade, including one of Slovenian nationality.
She also drew attention to the spread of disinformation and hostile rhetoric towards the EU and its institutions, amplified tenfold by the tensions at work in the country. “This has no place in the European integration process”, she insisted.
“The path to EU membership encompasses reforms which enshrine our values not only in legislation but also in practice”, she stressed.
Serbia is in the grip of major demonstrations denouncing corruption in the country, in connection with the Novi Sad disaster last November. Aleksandar Vučić’s government is criticised in Europe for its problematic and ongoing relations with Russia and its failings in terms of the Rule of law. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)