Rapporteur: Serbia’s Political Crisis Has Reached Parliament, Physically Endangering MPs Unacceptable

Tonino Picula (BETAPHOTO/European Parliament/Philippe BUISSIN)

European Parliament MP and Rapporteur for Serbia Tonino Picula said on March 5 that Serbia’s current three-month-long political crisis has predictably affected the operation of the country’s national assembly, but underlined that physically endangering MPs is not acceptable. He also extended his wishes for a quick recovery to the representatives injured in the March 4 incidents.

“The sweeping civil protests throughout Serbia are evidently not only not abating but are garnering more and more support from locals wherever [the rallies] take place,” Picula told N1.

According to him, only the Serbian public can decide what kind of government it wants, but the EU reserves the right to judge whether said government fulfills the pre-accession requirements.

“The EU is under pressure not only from [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine, but is also, for the first time ever, facing a hostile U.S. administration – which is currently doing quite a bit to delegitimize the EU,” Picula said.

The rapporteur went on to conclude that, at the moment, the Union does not have the political capacity for more serious engagement in the Western Balkans.