BRUSSELS – European Policy Centre (EPC) yesterday cancelled a panel discussion with the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabić, which was supposed to take place on Friday, 12 September.
EPC did not disclose the reason for the cancellation. According to the sources of the Serbian news agency Beta, the decision was made due to recent statements by Brnabić on the alleged role of the EU in fomenting protests in Serbia.
Brnabić is visiting Brussels this week, with a scheduled meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, on Friday morning. The visit comes following an EP debate on protests in Serbia, during which a majority of MEPs were critical of police violence in the country.
The European People’s Party also announced this week that it would consider the future relationship with the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.
Following the cancellation of the event, which it described as “unprofessional”, the Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the EU announced that it would instead host an exclusive discussion with Brnabić at the Mission’s premises.
“The conversation will span a wide range of topics – Serbia’s Accession Negotiations with the EU, as well as the current political situation in the country”, the Mission posted on its X account.
Reacting to the announcement of the Mission, Bojana Selaković, coordinator of Serbia’s National Convention on the European Union, posted on X that the goal of the authorities is to shift blame for the deadlock of Serbia’s EU accession path onto others: civil society, academia, and the opposition.
“(Their goal is) to discredit them abroad just as they have been discredited at home, presenting themselves as the only genuine pro-European actor”, Selaković wrote.
