Varhelyi to Meet with Leaders of Pro-European Opposition in Belgrade on Oct. 8

Oliver Varhelyi (Photo: Beta / Milos Miskov)

Oliver Varhelyi, the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, who is currently touring the region, will be visiting Belgrade on Oct. 8, where he is to meet with the highest state officials, as well as representatives of several opposition parties.

In the afternoon, Varhelyi will have separate meetings with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, after which the three will hold a joint press conference.

In addition, the EU commissioner will present the EU Commission’s latest annual report on Serbia’s progress in the accession process, as well as the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.

According to BETA’s findings, Varhelyi is also scheduled to meet with the leaders of Freedom and Justice Party, Democratic Party, Free Citizens’ Movement and People’s Party, Dragan Djilas, Zoran Lutovac, Pavle Grbovic and Vuk Jeremic, respectively. 

The opposition leaders have sent a joint letter to EU MPs, to support the Commission’s assessment of the state of democracy in Serbia, especially the part pointing to problems in the election process, which, as they said, “lacks even the basic conditions for equal competition.”

According to its 2020 annual report on Serbia’s accession progress presented in Brussels, the European Commission stated that Serbia has not made any progress when it comes to the election process and the judiciary, while there have been some limited steps forward in fighting corruption and organized crime and reforming public administration.