About the view Of the European Union towards Serbia, the reactions to the student demonstrations, but also the attitude towards the authorities, Helmut Brandstatter, MP, speaks for "Vreme" of the European Parliament, a member of the Committee for Foreign Affairs, as well as a member of the new "Shield of Democracy" Committee.
A long-time journalist and editor, Brandstatter got involved in politics in 2019. He sits in the European Parliament as part of the liberal parliamentary group Renew, the fifth largest group in the current convocation.
"WEATHER" Students cycled to Strasbourg, Now they are running a marathon to Brussels.. Do you think these activities will have any impact?
HELMUT BRANDSTATER: It is obvious that the students are not satisfied with the way in which Serbia is governed at the moment. I think that in all democracies there is the right to freedom of speech, the right to assembly and, of course, the right to demonstrations. And since we live in a common Europe, I believe that these same rights apply throughout Europe. That's why this is a good sign for me: they are young people who want to tell the whole of Europe that they are not satisfied with the government in Serbia.
Was the public in European countries even aware of the demonstration in Serbia??
I don't think the general public was particularly aware - it wasn't big news. Today, it can be said, there is too much going on. Let's look at the events in Ukraine, the American president who says something different every day and tries to change world trade. How China will react to foreign policy events, and what is happening in Europe - Serbia is not in the center of attention. This is precisely why such actions should be organized, because in this way there is a greater chance of attracting the attention of the international public.
Do you think that Europe can deal with Serbia at all??
We are just finishing the report on Serbia in the European Parliament. I think the report will be very good. He will talk about the areas in which Serbia has made progress on the road to European integration, but also about those areas in which Serbia is not ready at all. One of these other topics is freedom of the media - it is one of the main areas where changes must occur. There are also the way of governing and the functioning of the parliament, but also many other points that the report points out, and on which Serbia must work.
In Serbia, one gets the impression that the EU supports the current government or at least rarely criticizes it. What do you think about it??
If we say that the European Community is too positive towards the regime, according to Vučić - first, it can be said that the SNS is connected to the EPP (the largest parliamentary group in the European Parliament) and there are probably EPP members who are not as critical as they should be. On the other hand, we must clearly say to Mr. Vučić: "The way you are leading this country now, you will never enter the European Union. You must respect the rule of law, other political parties, parliament and free media." Many of these points are clearly mentioned in our report on Serbia, which will be discussed and voted on in May or June, before the summit of the European Parliament.
The European Parliament is very open about Vučić. I would even say that it would be useful for Mr. Vučić to come to Brussels or Strasbourg to talk to different groups and rapporteurs for Serbia about what needs to be changed. That would be good for both the European Union and Serbia.
Has the image of Serbia changed after the tragedy in Novi Sad and the student protests??
I think that, at least in one aspect, she has changed. Two things became clear. First, how much Chinese influence is there, and secondly, what is the degree of corruption. More people now understand that it is not only a question of how something was built, but also what is the reaction after the tragedy, who is responsible, who are the companies that participated in it, are there and who are the politicians who are responsible? So yes, as far as that goes, the attitude is changing. More people now realize that the way Vučić leads the country is not the way it is done in the European Union.
One more thing is very important, and I heard about it only when I came to Serbia and it is very worrying - for the first time there are political prisoners in Serbia. It immediately reminded me of what is happening in Belarus, which we talk about a lot, as well as in Russia. The way these six people were 'placed' and imprisoned without any possibility of getting out, that is how political prisoners are created. It is a huge step backwards for this government and they should really understand that.
We want Serbia to be a part of the European Union, but not in the way the police and secret police operate. That really needs to change. I think that's exactly what students want. And when the government talks about "foreign" influence, foreign non-governmental organizations, it is wrong. That is complete nonsense.
I don't know if you're familiar with it., but Tonino Picula is here represented as "the enemy".
It's not fair to label someone as an enemy just because you don't like them for some reason. If the reason is that he is from another country, that is even more stupid, because if Serbia wants to become a member of the European Union, it should be remembered that Croatia is already a member. You will be in the same club. If you say you can't be in the same club with someone else, then you simply can't get into that club. On account of that, I think that one of the biggest political events in history was Robert Schumann's speech on May 9, when he said: "We will not repeat it, we must cooperate." Robert Schumann is an extremely interesting personality, born as a German, his mother tongue was Luxembourgish, and later he was the French Minister of Foreign Affairs. Therefore, his personal story represents the spirit of Europe.
What do you think would be acceptable solutions for the European Union regarding this political crisis in Serbia? We agree that it is an internal matter, but what would be acceptable solutions for the EU?
Let's not talk specifically about Serbia for a moment, but about the general situation. Because we also had different, difficult situations in Austria. When a difficult situation is involved, a responsible leader should bring different groups to the same table. In Austria, for example, we considered changing the constitution, which is very complicated. If you really want to bring people with you, my advice would be: get different groups together and talk - what needs to change, see what they are looking for.
Free media is one of the important aspects. They imply freedom for journalists - but also responsibility, on the other hand. But you must have the opportunity to write what you think is right. I have no impression that this idea of freedom and responsibility is fully understood in all media in Serbia.
What, unfortunately, has been happening lately in various democracies is the division of society. For example: some say they support the arrival of people from other countries, while others claim that no one is allowed to come anymore - we saw this during the refugee crisis. Everyone knows that we need a certain number of workers from other countries, but that we cannot accept everyone. So let's sit down together and find a compromise. That should be our main goal.
Do you see that different groups in Serbia gather around the same table??
In general, if a country is in crisis, and I think I can say without a negative connotation that this country is in crisis, when so many people take to the streets together with so many young students, who have a future ahead of them.
They care about their country. They are aware that they will probably need a year more to finish their studies, to start earning, to start a family, but their country is important to them. They want an open society and care about their country. And when the country is in crisis, the job of a responsible leader is to say - what will we do? You have to do something. That is the task of the government or parliament: to bring people together and find a solution, not to further divide society, to declare some as good and others as bad. It's really wrong, but it happens in other countries too. Isn't that what Trump does?
Do you think the EU would support new elections as a possible solution?
New elections? No, that is the decision of this country. I don't think we should even talk about it, because it depends only on Serbia.
