Chief of FES Office in Belgrade: Student Movement Is Fighting for the Values Invoked by the EU

EU flags (PHOTO: EUROPEAN UNION/Zucchi Enzo)

The head of the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) foundation in Belgrade, Peter Hurrelbrink, has said that the student movement, although it does not call itself expressly pro-European, can through the reforms it aims for bring Serbia very close to the European Union.

In an interview with FES' debate and policy platform IPG Journal (www.ipg-journal.de) on Oct. 29, Hurrelbrink said that the student movement has not taken a firm position on ideological and foreign policy issues and has so far consciously avoided conflict-causing themes such as Kosovo, Russia and the historical lies of the regime led by Aleksandar Vucic, something the rest of Europe reprimands it for. 

"I think that is wise and unfortunately the right thing to do. In order to beat the regime, the movement had to set different priorities," said Hurrelbrink, adding that the Vucic-dominated media incessantly hurled lies, insults and threats at the student movement, despite its not taking a single stance on topics like Kosovo.

Hurrelbrink said that the process of Serbia's accession to the EU "has been only an act for many years now" and that "for years, both sides have only pretended to seriously negotiate."

On the other hand, the student movement does not draw motivation from potential EU membership or orientation toward Russia or China.

"Its approach is completely different: We are changing our country from within. We are not doing that to meet some EU criteria, but rather to liberate the country from an autocratic kleptocracy. Not because, not to spite and not against the EU," said Hurrelbrink.

Asked about Germany's and the EU's attitude toward Vucic so far, Hurrelbrink said that Germany and the EU have indeed been playing the Vucic card and have "treated the biggest and most aggressive destabilizer in the Western Balkans like a supposed factor of stability," thereby making the conditions for a regime change difficult.

Hurrelbrink went on to say that the EU has never unambiguously condemned Vucic's autocratic style of governing, that it has tacitly tolerated his policy of see-sawing between the EU, Russia and China and other states, and has been complicit in the false process of accession to the EU.

He added that the EU now has an opportunity to win back the credibility it lost and a new chance to build a new relationship with Serbia.

"The student movement won the election with the themes and values that the EU also invokes. And it is exactly now that the EU should finally offer itself as a partner and a patron," said Hurrelbrink.