European Parliament Urges Commission to Make Serbia Aware of Omissions More Directly

European Parliament (Photo: YTPrintScreen)

The European Parliament has said that it regrets the European Commission’s conciliatory approach toward Serbia, despite its backsliding in the areas of rule of law, democracy, and fundamental rights, as well as its destabilizing influence on the entire region and urges the Commission to use clearer language and make Serbia consistently aware of its omissions, lack of progress, and even regression.

Among others, these remarks were included in a resolution based on the Report on the Implementation of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy for 2024, which was adopted by the European Parliament last week, an April 4 release says.

The Resolution and Report, authored by David McAllister, chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), recall that EU membership requires the alignment of candidate countries’ foreign policies with those of the EU, including voting on United Nations General Assembly resolutions, support for Ukraine, and alignment with sanctions against Russia. It is noted in the two documents that most of the Western Balkan countries have achieved a high level of alignment, and that Serbia remains a stark exception.

More specifically about Serbia, the document says that the EU is closely monitoring the massive mobilization of students, joined by other citizen groups, following the collapse of a concrete roof at Novi Sad’s central train station that killed 16 people, cautioning that freedom of assembly is a fundamental right and that violence against peaceful demonstrators cannot be tolerated. The resolution condemns reported attacks, digital surveillance, and the harassment of journalists, human rights activists, and civil society organizations in Serbia.