AMSTERDAM – The Freedom and Justice Party (SSP) from Serbia and the Self-Determination Movement (LVV) from Kosovo today became associated members of the Party of European Socialists (PES), having previously held observer status. The decision was made by the PES Congress, which is meeting this week in Amsterdam.
The Party of European Socialists is an alliance of centre-left European parties, which currently has 33 full members and, following today’s decision, 15 associate members. The Democratic Party (DS) from Serbia already had the status of an associate member, while the SSP had observer status from 2022.
According to the PES statute, associate members have the right to attend meetings to which they are invited with the right of expression and the right of initiative, but without the right to vote.
In his speech, Dragan Đilas said that this decision does not only mean the admission of SSP as a member party of the European Socialists and Democrats, but it also means support for Serbia to become a part of the European family of nations, and that is precisely the idea for which the SSP is fighting in Serbia.
“In Serbia, for a year now, there has been a popular uprising led by students demanding that those responsible for the death of 16 people in Novi Sad be punished. Their death is the result of rule of law violations and massive corruption. For the past 12 months, students, as well as all citizens and members of opposition parties, have been victims of violence by the police in criminal groups”, Đilas said.
According to Đilas, for their freedom and justice, citizens of Serbia must fight on their own, by winning free and fair elections, which Serbia has not had for 13 years.
“The only ones who can help us achieve these conditions are the European Union and the social democrats who lead it”, he concluded.
In his speech, the leader of the Self-Determination and Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, reaffirmed the country’s “strong determination to be part of our European family and to contribute to our common solutions to global challenges that threaten the cohesion of the EU”.
“Since I took office in March 2021, Kosovo has gone through a number of challenges, the most concerning being the security threats and attacks launched by Belgrade. Despite this, my government has managed to perform efficiently in terms of the rule of law, economic and social policies, good governance, and democracy, as reported by many international indexes”, Kurti said.
According to Kurti, by extending economic and social programs parallel with the rule of law in areas where the majority of residents are ethnic Serbs, an irreversible new reality was established, peaceful coexistence between developing communities, where bridges are built to close inherited divisions.
“Kosovo has humbly contributed to providing a tangible example of what genuine progressive, social-democratic policies can achieve. These achievements make Vetevendosje even prouder to be upgraded to the status of associate member”, Kurti concluded.
