Austrian Politician: ODIHR Electoral Recommendations Ignored, Vucic Leading Serbia No Closer to EU

Local Elections in Serbia, June 2 2024 (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

On June 5, Andreas Schieder, who headed the European Parliament’s observer mission for Serbia’s December 2023 elections, lamented the fact that the recommendations for improving Serbia’s voting conditions issued by OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) have not been implemented and stated that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is not leading the country closer to the European Union.

“This is lamentable, especially given that Serbia’s political system has grown unstable in recent years and is increasingly displaying autocratic tendencies. The current elections are an opportunity for President Aleksandar Vucic and his party to show in which direction they’d like to develop the country,” the politician told the Danas daily.

Schieder, who is the Social Democratic Party of Austria’s candidate for the 2024 European Parliament election, described Vucic as “an ally” of Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed his hope that Serbia will “find a path back to constructive reforms toward the rule of law and democracy.”

“Serbia’s current regime is on a path that certainly does not lead closer to the European Union. We see not only negative examples of democracy and the rule of law, but also Putin’s ally leading Serbia. If Vucic continues with such a policy, attempting to destabilize the entire region, we must consider repercussions such as freezing the EU enlargement process,” Schieder concluded.