LJUBLJANA – At the seventh meeting of the Friends of the Western Balkans network, the participants adopted a statement affirming the student demands in Serbia as legitimate. The participants urged the Serbian authorities to implement electoral reform ahead of the next election, and the European Union to consider measures against the government should it continue to violate human rights.
Friends of the Western Balkans is a network of social-democratic Members of Parliaments and Members of the European Parliament from across Europe, established in 2022 aiming to revitalise the EU Enlargement to the Western Balkans.
The meeting in Ljubljana, which took place on 16 May, was dedicated to the situation in Serbia.
The statement adopted at the meeting “expresses deep concern about the systemic issues highlighted by the student protests, relating to democratic backsliding, civil liberties, separation of powers, endemic corruption and state capture, environmental protection, institutional and financial transparency, especially in relation to infrastructure projects, and accountability”.
It affirmed that the students’ demands are legitimate and align with democratic and rule of law reforms that Serbia is expected to implement on its EU integration path.
The statement, among other issues, demands the immediate release of political prisoners arrested in Novi Sad in March and calls for a timely, independent and efficient investigation of the use of illegal weapons against the protesters.
The Friends of the Western Balkans call on the Serbian authorities to “urgently implement the OSCE/ODIHR 2023 election observation mission’s recommendations, as well as those set out in the European Parliament resolution of 8 February 2024, in an inclusive dialogue with the opposition and civil society, acknowledging that free and fair early parliamentary elections are a way out of the crisis.”
The statement urged the European Commission and member states to “stop the appeasement towards President Aleksandar Vučić against the backdrop of the government’s rollback of the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights”.
The statement also urges the EU to investigate the possibility of individually targeted sanctions as a measure to punish Serbian political actors who violate fundamental human rights and stop regarding President Aleksandar Vučić as a stabilising influence on the whole region.