In a lively debate held on the evening of Tuesday 21 October, the European Parliament returned to the current situation in Serbia, in the light of the regime’s recent authoritarian excesses (see EUROPE 13695/3). For many, including the Commission, Belgrade’s EU accession process is now in serious jeopardy.
“The time has come for Serbia to make clear strategic choices”, said the Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, at the opening of the debate. While welcoming some of the progress made by the country in terms of reforms, the Commissioner did not give Belgrade a blank cheque: “Relations with Moscow and Beijing accompanied by statements hostile to the Union are not compatible with the status of candidate country”, she insisted.
The Chamber is divided between the radical right, some of whose representatives claim that the EU is “destabilising” a sovereign country, and the more moderate, who believe that Serbia is moving away from European values and ostensibly closer to Moscow.
“Europe is losing political ground in Serbia and others will benefit, starting with China and Russia. And this will have negative repercussions on the stability of the region”, insisted ECR MEP Alessandro Ciriani (Italian). According to a recent Eurobarometer survey, only 33% of Serbian citizens now support accession.
The following day, Wednesday 22 October, the European Parliament adopted a resolution, by 457 votes to 103 with 72 abstentions, “condemning the polarisation and state repression in Serbia and demanding the opening of an enquiry” into the tragedy in Novi Sad.
At the beginning of September, the Greens/EFA group had already asked the EU to sanction Belgrade after the Serbian President had called MEPs “scum” (see EUROPE 13705/19).
Marta Kos had, however, adopted a firmer stance towards Serbia after its president, Aleksandar Vučić, made remarks against green MEPs. “Calling MEPs ‘scum’ shows a dubious understanding of democracy”, she quipped.
Aleksandar Vučić continues to maintain that Serbia’s strategic priority remains EU membership (see EUROPE 13646/25) and that these demonstrations are having a “detrimental” effect on the country’s image and economic attractiveness. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)