European Parliament to Vote on Resolution Regarding Post-Election Serbia

European Parliament (Photo: EP/Philippe BUISSIN)

On Feb. 8 in Strasbourg, members of the European Parliament (EP) will be voting on a resolution calling for an independent international investigation into the electoral irregularities of Serbia’s Dec. 17, 2023 parliamentary, provincial and local elections, with a special emphasis on the local Belgrade vote.

In the final draft of the resolution regarding the situation in Serbia post-elections, the EP calls on the European Commission to immediately audit the funds provided to the Serbian Government through the Instruments of Pre-Accession (IPA) III and other financial instruments. The document further requests that all financial aid to Serbia be put on hold should the country’s authorities fail to comply with the EP’s key recommendations regarding the elections or should the international investigation prove the regime was directly involved in electoral fraud.

The EP indicated that certain allegations – including those of importing voters for local elections – exceed the findings of the report by the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and that an ad hoc mission should immediately be sent to Serbia to, in collaboration with the EP, determine all the facts.

The final draft – agreed upon by all EP caucuses – further asked the Commission to launch the initiative for deploying an expert mission which would evaluate the situation in Serbia in the wake of the recent elections and post-electoral happenings. Said mission would also be tasked with enabling the social dialogue necessary for renewing the public’s trust in state institutions, assessing the rule of law in Serbia and addressing any systemic issues with the latter.