BRUSSELS – A group of Serbian students, who arrived on Monday evening in Brussels, after completing a nearly 2,000km relay ultramarathon from Novi Sad, met with the European Commissioners for Enlargement, Marta Kos and Youth and Culture, Glen Micallef, today in Brussels. Commenting on the meeting, Kos posted on X that “through this powerful gesture, they delivered the message of democracy and civic engagement”.
“We welcome their direction: towards Brussels, towards Europe. Because my vision is to bring all Serbian people into the EU”, she wrote.
Similarly, Glen Micallef posted on X: “From Serbia to Brussels for European Values. This morning, Commissioner Kos and I welcomed inspiring young people from Serbia and listened to their views on the future of Europe”.
He added that they (the students) ran an ultra marathon from Serbia to Brussels.
“A testament to how physical fitness can convey a strong message on European Values!”, he concluded.
On 13 May, the Serbian students met the members of the European Parliament from several political groups. N1 reported that before entering the Parliament building, the students staged “a small but touching performance”.
They lined up in front of the European Parliament, took off the sneakers they had worn to run 2,000 kilometers to Brussels. Next to each pair, they laid a white rose and a black placard bearing the name and birth and death year of a Novi Sad tragedy victim.
Under the banner “From My Village to Brussels”, the run saw nearly two dozen young people. The students embarked on the journey on 25 April from Novi Sad, Serbia, to inform the EU institutions about the political crisis in the country.
The symbolic ultra-marathon took place in the context of the protests in Serbia, which have been going on since late November, following the Novi Sad railway station collapse, which claimed 16 lives. Another group of Serbian students cycled to Strasbourg for the same purpose on the evening of 15 April, and they met the members of the EP and Council of Europe representatives.
“The students received support from all political groups. We have our differences here. However, when it comes to core values like fighting corruption or upholding the rule of law, we are largely united. In that sense, the students got our backing,” Biljana Borzan, an MEP from the Socialist and Democrats Group, stated for N1.
In addition, Gordan Bosanac, an MEP from the Greens, said that “we are here to listen to what they (the students) expect and how we can help Serbia become more democratic and tackle corruption”.
