President, Honourable Members of the European Parliament,

The Commission appreciates the opportunity for another debate on the situation in Serbia, which the Commission has been following very closely for many months and with increasing concern.

After ten months of protests, the Serbian society is left with deep divisions, feelings of hatred and frustration – and all of this is reflected on the streets of Serbian towns and cities.

We expect police action to be proportionate and respect fundamental rights and expect these cases to be investigated as a matter of priority.

We also condemn all acts of hate, vandalism and violence and continue to call on all sides to deescalate tension.

Respect for fundamental rights and values, including freedom of peaceful assembly, media and academic freedom are key elements of Serbia’s EU path and need to be adhered to by everyone.

This also implies avoiding any kind of violence against representatives of government as well as to party premises as a means of political protests.

The Commission has consistently emphasised the importance to respect and proactively defend the independence of judicial institutions and we condemn violence or threats against representatives of the judiciary, including the prosecution.

Media freedom is one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and a fundamental right in the EU, and therefore a crucial element and prerequisite of Serbia’s EU accession process.  In this context, political and economic influence on media in Serbia remain a grave concern and needs to be addressed.

We expect Serbia to create an enabling environment for media freedom and ensure that freedom of expression can be exercised without hindrance.

We are calling for de-escalation of tensions and for the authorities to allow an increasing space for journalists to express freely their voices.  The attacks that journalists have been facing in the context of the protests need to stop, including reported cases of police involvement and verbal attacks from high-level officials.

It is crucial that journalists can do their job free of any threat of violence, harassment and intimidation to ensure that citizens have access to all information.

The Commission also stresses that spreading disinformation and hostile political rhetoric including against the EU and its citizens runs contrary to EU values and standards.

Dear Honourable Members,

Serbia is a candidate country to the EU. We want a truly democratic Serbia inside the EU; as Commissioner for Enlargement, I’m truly devoted to it. We will continue with constructive engagement and will do everything possible to help Serbia move forward on its accession path.  But for this to happen, concrete steps on democratic principles and reforms are needed.

The participation of President Vucic on military parades in Moscow and in Bejing accompanied with critical statements towards the EU and respectful Members of parliament (Green Part delegation reference) is not what is expected from a candidate country.

The sincerity of Serbia’s commitment to the EU path and its political will to credibly implement the required reforms has to be strengthened via communication and concrete actions.

Serbia needs to step up efforts and overcome the current stagnation in the implementation of fundamental reforms. It is time to deliver concrete results in fighting corruption and strengthening the rule of law, including independence of the judiciary and media freedom and on electoral reforms.

Commission expects Serbia to create an enabling environment for civil society. Independent voices need to be heard and protected. Intimidations and pressure on civil society is not the way we operate in the Union and must not be tolerated.

All these reform steps are key to Serbia’s progress on its European path, and they are imperative to exit the current political impasse and divisions in Serbian society.

History has proven that democratic changes can only come from within a country, through internal democratic processes. And this is what the Commission respects and abides by. We support ODIHR’s recommendations on electoral legislation: especially the audit of voter registers. This would improve political climate and could serve as an example that advancement is possible if there is will and constructive approach by all.

Again, it is imperative for Serbia to create conditions for a renewed dialogue between stakeholders across the political spectrum and across society. In our view, this should be based on a renewed societal consensus on key reforms.

We hope to see steps towards dialogue concerning the election of the new council of media regulator REM, and a successful completion of this procedure in the upcoming weeks. This is one of the commitments for opening Cluster 3.

EU accession is an all of society project and at the same time a joint responsibility of all political parties and other stakeholder.

Dear Honourable Members,

We will continue engaging with the authorities and all stakeholders, political actors and civil society encouraging them to find a way out of the current political impasse and establish a genuinely inclusive process, for the benefit of all its citizens and the whole Serbian society and EU path and EU membership in the future.

Thank you.