BRUSSELS / BELGRADE – The upcoming visit of the mission of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) to Belgrade has triggered a harsh reaction from Serbian high officials, including President Aleksandar Vučić and Speaker of the Parliament Ana Brnabić. They claim that the MPs were coming to the country “uninvited”, stressing that they had no intention of meeting the delegation from Brussels.
On the other hand, European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Serbia, Tonino Picula, said on 14 January that the Serbian Embassy in Brussels had been notified and that the EU Delegation in Belgrade worked on developing the visit’s agenda.
The members of the European Parliament are scheduled to visit Serbia from 22 to 24 January, in order to assess the situation on the ground, speak with relevant actors, and, based on that, define the next steps of the EP towards the country.
In late October 2025, the EP adopted the Resolution on polarisation and increased repression in Serbia, on the eve of the first anniversary of the Novi Sad tragedy.
Speaking about the upcoming arrival of the EP delegation, Ana Brnabić stated that they had not consulted with the country’s authorities either about the visit or about the date, adding that she would not meet with the MEPs because she would be on a previously scheduled visit to Estonia.
“The Serbian Embassy in Brussels received information about the MEPs’ visit to Belgrade, and I conveyed to the National Assembly that the EP delegation was coming for a so-called ‘fact-finding mission’… They are coming on a mission to investigate the facts, but I do not know about what, since we have not been informed about that either. Why this visit? What do you want to talk about? What kind of fact-finding is needed when you have already adopted the Resolution (on Serbia)”, Brnabić told K1 TV.
In addition, Brnabić announced that the EP’s mission would meet with the heads of the Parliamentary Committees for European Integration and Foreign Affairs, Elvira Kovač and Marina Raguš, who are members of the ruling majority.
Similarly, Aleksandar Vučić said that he did not want to see or talk to the MEPs from Brussels “who are coming to Serbia uninvited”.
“I have no intention of wasting my time… The EP delegation decided on the timing of their visit on their own… I will be at the World Economic Forum in Davos during their visit”, Vučić stated during his visit to Abu Dhabi.
The pro-government newspapers in Serbia also lashed out at the MEPs over their decision to visit the country, calling it a “punitive expedition” and attacking in particular the Croatian MEPs who will reportedly be a part of the delegation.
In his reaction to the Serbian high officials’ decision to boycott the visit of the MEPs, Tonino Picula noted that “they are avoiding facing and speaking with the people who are essential to deciding on Serbia’s entry into the European Union”.
“Nothing is out of the ordinary except the reaction (by the Serbian officials) and the situation in the country”, Tonino Picula told Nova TV.
He clarified that the delegation, which comprises MEPs from various political groups, aims at “gaining a complete picture of the situation in Serbia, through direct conversations with those who reflect the sentiment of the Serbian people”.
The Serbian opposition parties strongly criticised the officials for their unwillingness to meet with the EP delegation. Stefan Janjić, a MEP of the “Serbia Centre” party, denied the claims by Ana Brnabić that she was not informed about their arrival in Serbia.
“This is not true as the National Assembly duly received the verbal note about their arrival on 23 December 2025, along with a request for assistance in organising the meetings”, Janjić wrote on X, posting a photo of the verbal note by the EP.
The opposition Party of Freedom and Justice stated that “the hysterical reaction of Ana Brnabić on the arrival of the delegation of the European Parliament in Belgrade is the best evidence of the panic at the top levels of the political establishment in Serbia”.
By contrast, Brnabić claimed that “there is hysteria among the representatives of the former government over the arrival of the EP delegation”, adding that the opposition is welcoming them “as the children would welcome Santa Claus”.
