Danas’ interlocutors believe that the EU is still balancing between stability and principles, and as long as the opposition remains fragmented and without a clear European vision, it is difficult to expect Brussels to openly demand Vučić’s departure and call for new elections.
It is not expected that European Union representatives will call on the authorities in Serbia to call for early parliamentary elections. Danas’ interlocutors believe that the EU is still balancing between stability and principles, and as long as the opposition remains fragmented and without a clear European vision, it is difficult to expect Brussels to openly demand Vučić’s departure and call for new elections.
They note that the EU will always choose stability over unpredictable chaos. They also emphasize that it is not enough to wait for the EU to “close the door” on the regime; rather, the first step must come from within, through opposition agreement and the mobilization of students and citizens around a clear European alternative.
INVITATION FOR ELECTION
“The request to call elections is simply not a matter within the competence of any European institution and we should not expect such invitations to come from Brussels,” Sofija Popovic, an EWB journalist, told Danas. As she adds, what we can expect from the EU is pressure on the authorities regarding the fulfillment of electoral conditions.
“So, I believe that in the coming period the EU will insist that the authorities fulfill everything they have promised for years, above all in the area of the rule of law and political criteria. Although there is still no stronger condemnation of the events in Serbia or any concrete action as the EU did in the case of Georgia, the latest statement by Commissioner Kos shows that the EU is closely monitoring the situation in Serbia and that the recent actions of the police represent a violation of fundamental rights and values. This also shows that the European Union does not normalize the violence that the police and authorities exercise against demonstrators,” says Sofija Popović.
EU VIGILANCE
The Danas interviewee notes that it is important that the commissioner spoke out because it is a message to the government that their false narratives about violence against the police are unfounded. “The organized attacks on Commissioner Marta Kos show the nervousness of official Belgrade due to the fact that these manipulations do not pass muster in Brussels,” she says.
“Marta Kos’s message and the European Commission’s reaction to the violence against demonstrators in Serbia show that Brussels has no understanding for the collapse of democracy in Serbia. However, the reality is more complex than it seems from tweets and announcements. The EU is still balancing between stability and principles, and as long as the opposition remains fragmented and without a clear European vision, it is difficult to expect Brussels to openly demand Vučić’s departure and call for new elections. The EU will always choose stability over unpredictable chaos,” Naim Leo Beshiri, director of the Institute for European Affairs, told “Danas”. European officials, even when frustrated with the regime, expect there to be a realistic and credible alternative, he adds. Without such a front, he continues, saying, any message from the EU remains at the level of a warning, but be sure that without it, Vučić’s aides would behave more brutally with dissidents.
“FLIRTING” WITH VUCIC
“Serbian citizens deserve an opposition that does not just play with the potential of protest, but offers a concrete pro-European reform plan and a willingness to lead the country through transition. As long as there is nothing like that, Brussels will not take the risk of asking for Vučić’s head without a guarantee that they will get a more stable and democratic Serbia,” he said. “This is why it is not enough to wait for the EU to close the door on the regime,” he added.
“The first step must come from within, through the opposition’s agreement and the mobilization of students and citizens around a clear European alternative. Only then will Brussels have the basis to stand on the right side in this fight. As long as it flirts with nationalism and war criminals, the EU will also flirt with Vučić,” concludes Naim Leo Beširi.
