Picula: Political Crisis in Serbia on Agenda of EP Session

Tonino Picula (BETAPHOTO/Armenija Zajmi Besevic)

The political crisis in Serbia is on the agenda of a plenary session of the European Parliament at the request of the political groups of the Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe and Greens, joined by the European People's Party, Tonino Picula, EP rapporteur for Serbia, told BETA on Feb. 9.

Picula said the adoption of a resolution was not on the agenda of the Feb. 11 afternoon session, only a debate. The discussion, Picula noted, will focus on the situation in Serbia which has been escalating since the collapse of the concrete overhang at the main railway station in Novi Sad on Nov. 1, 2024, which killed 15 people. "There are mass protests and marches going on, with demands for accountability for the tragedy. Assaults and verbal attacks on protesters are constant. The situation continues to be very tense, while the prime minister resigned some ten days ago, which led to fall of the entire cabinet," it was pointed out.

Picula recalled that the European Commission had voiced concern over reports of incidents against protesters and called for a speedy investigation, and that the Socialists and Democrats, the political group in the EP that he belonged to, as well as some others, had given their own assessment of the situation in Serbia.

Late in January, the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the second largest EP caucus with 136 members, and the 53-strong Group of the Greens and the 77-strong Renew Europe Group condemned the violence against protesters in Serbia and expressed support for the protesting university students and their demands. The Group of the European People's Party, the largest caucus in the EP with 188 members, said students and other citizens in Serbia had a right to peaceful protests, but that Serbia did not need radicalization, but dialogue and work toward European reforms.