EU Council President António Costa’s visit to Serbia, scheduled for Tuesday 13 May, is not going down well with many European parliamentarians.
In a letter initiated by the former Estonian Defence Minister and current MEP, Riho Terras (EPP), around thirty MEPs from the ranks of the Social Democrats, Renew Europe, the EPP and even the Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) urged the President of the European Council to abandon this “problematic” trip, which could be interpreted as “support for someone who endorses a war criminal”.
“In the world of diplomacy, these visits are far from a mere formality - they are acts of support. [Serbian] President Vučić’s attendance [at the military parade on 9 May] amounts to endorsement of the war crimes committed by Putin”, the signatories state indignantly.
In a post on X, the Estonian MEP said that the presence of Serbian head of state Vučić “contradicts the values of the European Union and shows support for Ukrainian genocide”.
The Serbian leader's increasingly open attitude towards Russia is alarming and exasperating a large number of European leaders, both in Parliament and among the EU27.
“When we discuss the next steps [towards EU membership], the Member States will have many questions”, said the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, on 9 May. “Such as who your friends are and whom you choose to cooperate with”
See the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/gro (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)