This time, there were no meaningless claims such as that Serbia is "one of the most advanced countries in the EU accession process", that Serbia is "committed to reforms, especially in the rule of law and democracy", and that "our actions follow our words". And that's how it looked last year in October, when the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited Serbia, just like a few days ago. This year, the conference and statements seemed much more restrained, more measured, but still, critics would say, too mild.
GREETINGS AND PRAISE
Ursula von der Lajen visited Serbia as part of the "Western Balkan tour" which she has been carrying out for several years in a row and during which she visits the candidate countries for EU membership from the region - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia.
And while the president of the EC had mostly only words of praise for the other candidates, especially for Montenegro and Albania, there was hardly anything to praise in Serbia, except for two things.
"Sir" president, now is the moment for Serbia to specify its membership in our Union. Therefore, we need to see progress in the area of rule of law, electoral framework and media freedom. I know these reforms are not easy. They require patience and perseverance. They must include all parts of society and the political spectrum. But they are worth the effort. Because they bring you closer to your goal. And they provide the foundations for a more stable and peaceful society. In this context, I welcome the recent progress made on the Unified Voters' List, as well as in connection with the REM Council," said Ursula von der Leyen at a joint press conference with Aleksandar Vučić. To remind, the day before the President of the EC came to Serbia, CRTA and CeSID "approved" who-knows-which version of the draft law of SNS MP Uglješa Mrdić on the Unified Voters' List, and the Parliamentary Committee for Culture and information adopted a list of organizations and candidates for REM Council members.
The next day, the President of the EC was able to praise the joint efforts of "the authorities, the opposition and civil society" on the progress achieved in these two issues.
She requested that Serbia impose sanctions on Russia, invited Vučić to come to Brussels in a month to see what has been done by then, and contrary to last year's message, she said that Serbia should be like Europe - dedicated not only in words, but also in deeds.
BRUSSELS DOESN'T BELIEVE BLANK'S PROMISES
"Compared to last year, there is a noticeable difference in the way the president of the European Commission treats the president of Serbia," Srđan Majstorović, president of the Board of Directors of the Center for European Policies, told Vreme. He says that apart from the method, the content of the messages addressed to the regime in Serbia is much more important.
"Last year, a completely unfounded message was sent that 'deeds follow the words' of the President of Serbia, this year the main message was that Brussels no longer believes in the regime's promises but is looking for concrete results. The mention of checking the status of the implementation of certain measures in a month in Brussels looks like additional, informal monitoring of the crisis in Serbia," says Majstorović.
Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences, prof. Dr. Maja Kovačević says for "Vreme" that now the question arises whether the EU will really carefully monitor the implementation of what is written or will just be content with making decisions - "the problem in Serbia is that some decisions may be adopted, but we know that they do not have to be implemented later".
"Something else is important when we look at the wider context. So, the fact that the European Parliament is reconsidering the situation in Serbia and proposing the adoption of a resolution on the situation in Serbia is also a form of warning to the regime," says Maja Kovačević, adding that "the somewhat changed and more restrained tone of Ursula von der Leyen represents another signal, and of course there is one within the European People's Party, where the Serbian Progressive Party is actually put under a certain kind of monitoring. When you look at all this in a wider context, yes, it is visible that the European Union is less and less closing its eyes to the situation in Serbia."
When asked why the EU turned a blind eye to the situation in Serbia in the first place, Maja Kovačević replied that the entire region is low on her agenda: "The European Union is overwhelmed by the war in Ukraine, problems in relations with the USA, trade problems in relations with China, the fact that it has been sidelined in this process of dealing with Trump and Putin over Ukraine..."
photo: apMORE AND MORE CRITICISM DIRECTED AT THE REGIME IN BELGRADE: European Parliament
CRITICISM, TOO GENTLE
Andreas Schieder, a member of the European Parliament since 2019, otherwise a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), i.e. the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament (the second largest grouping in the EP), agrees that in Ursula von der Leyen's previous term "the EU enlargement agenda was treated extremely badly", but that "it finally seems to be present these days".
"The current geopolitical pressure is too high for us to allow opportunities to pass us by and for the region to lose confidence in the European Union. For this reason, putting the region in the spotlight is the right move at the right time. Too often we notice that especially politicians from right-of-centre parties, such as the President of the Commission, are very soft on President Vučić and the government in Serbia. They continue to follow a policy of appeasement - a path that we should have abandoned years ago," Šider told "Vreme".
"In her speech, Ursula von der Leyen reminded him for the first time in clear words that reforms are needed. Not knowing what was discussed behind closed doors, the public statement was too cautious, considering the situation in Serbia these days. In just a few days, it will be one year since the tragedy in Novi Sad. Since then, the country has changed profoundly. Although the democratic backsliding lasted for years, since last year the public has found its voice. Today there is a loud call for change that can no longer be ignored or to deny", says this MEP.
Vula Ceci, co-president of the European Green Party (EGP), which is part of the Green/EFG (European Free Alliance) group in the European Parliament, visited the student protest in Novi Sad in September of this year. After that, Aleksandar Vučić, visibly drunk, called her and other members of the European Green Party "the worst scum" at a press conference. "If Mrs. von der Leyen had spoken and criticized the situation before her trip - and there were several occasions in recent months when she could have done so - the purpose of her meeting could have been clearer and more transparent. But with her silence, she personally sent the wrong signal. As the guardian of the EU Treaty, Commission President von der Leyen has a duty to defend the rule of law, freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly. Instead, she honored Vučić with an official visit without showing very clear criticism, while his regime illegally detains students and oppositionists and violently suppresses demonstrators," Vula Ceci told Vreme.
She adds that the president of the EC "must show that there is a European future for them, as well as for democracy in Serbia", and that the fact that Serbian students were shortlisted for the Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament for freedom of thought "is a powerful recognition of their courage and the situation in Serbia, where democracy is under threat".
"There is a unique opportunity for the European Commission to recognize the seriousness of the democratic crisis in Serbia. Now is the moment for the presidents of both the Commission and the Council to take a decisive step in the same direction. It is a challenge for the media to be able to report freely, because there is a big problem with media freedom in Serbia. President Vučić controls the narrative and delivers only the messages he wants the public to hear. As a result, many citizens feel abandoned and alone," adds Vula Ceci.
WHERE NEXT?
But let's go back to the "successes" mentioned by Ursula von der Leyen. Candidates for the election of REM Council members have yet to be "approved" by the National Assembly, and amendments to the Law on the Unified Voter List have yet to be sent to the parliament. On the other hand, Nemanja Nenadić, program director of the organization "Transparency Serbia", who participated in the civil society talks in Serbia with the President of the EC, tells "Vreme" that the European Union could have chosen some other topics that will be a priority, and where it could immediately be seen whether the government in Serbia wants to change its behavior.
"Those three topics that are highly prioritized - REM, electoral roll and changes in media laws that happened a few months ago - although undoubtedly significant, are not, in my opinion, the most important, and even if they are, they are not topics where any progress can be recognized in a very short term. Specifically, when it comes to elections, the EU had the opportunity to prioritize some other topics, rather than the voter list, to immediately check whether the government in Serbia wants to change its behavior," says Nenadić.
"We had elections in Zaječar and Kosjerić, now there will be elections in Negotin and Mionica, and it was an ideal opportunity to check whether there is a willingness to fulfill the key recommendation of the ODIHR after the local elections in 2024, which is a clear separation of party and state, and the introduction of concrete measures to prevent the abuse of public resources. In practice, we saw that the behavior of the authorities during the campaign in Zaječar and Kosjerić was even worse than in the 2024 local elections. when it comes to the misuse of public resources to support the ruling coalition, but also when it comes to the intensity of the official campaign of republican and local officials. It is not that the situation has not changed for the better, but the situation has worsened. And when it comes to the voter list, even if the law is the best possible, and there are no obstructions in its implementation, the results would have to wait for several months", emphasizes Nenadić.
Srđan Majstorović says that the experience of the previous 13 years teaches us that this regime "is happy to 'sign' various agreements, but it is difficult to implement what it does not like".
"The paper will endure everything, but the implementation will, as before, depend on the moment, the interpretation and the political will of the ruling party. Democracy does not exist without a public that is free to choose between different sources of information on the basis of which it takes its position on all important issues. Due to its regulatory powers, REM is a key point of control of the media space, which the government tries to keep under its authority," says Majstorović.
He adds that it is "certain" that REM will continue to be the last stronghold of the authoritarian regime, because "the moment this institution starts to do its job, the regime will lose one of the main pillars on which it rests."
FPN Dean Maja Kovačević points out that although the tone of the EU towards the authorities in Serbia has changed, it is a slow change and that "we should not expect much because the European Union will not make any sudden turns".
"We need to be rational and aware that everything will go very slowly and that the regime will actually have a lot of time to continue manipulating those processes. The fact is that the European Parliament is the most active when it comes to issues of democracy and human rights in Serbia, and the fact is that, although the EP does not have a formal role in this phase of the accession process, it is an institution that significantly influences public opinion in the EU. In this sense, its role is important," says Maja Kovačević.
"As you can see, the more active role of the European Parliament actually influenced the change of tone of Ursula von der Leyen, who previously supported the regime much more, not only through the European People's Party but also as president of the Commission. In this sense, the climate is changing, but we must be aware that these are slow processes," Professor Kovačević concludes.
What does the competent minister say?
Probably the most spectacular reaction to what Ursula von der Leyen said in Belgrade was given to RTS by the current Minister for European Integration, Nemanja Starović.
For some reason, he claimed for Serbia - a country that has not shied away from EU integration since 2021 - that it has made "significant progress on the European path", moreover, that Serbia has "already done enough" on that path, that it is not possible for Serbia, like some member states, to "fully harmonize its foreign policy with the tendencies in the Union", and finally concluded that cluster three (the opening of which has been announced for years) is not open - because of the war in Ukraine.
If I were Ursula von der Leyen
When asked what she would say if she were the president of the EC, Vula Ceci said that she would not come because of the photo shoot and the polite words addressed to Vučić.
"I would publicly demand from Vučić full responsibility and transparency in the investigations of the tragedy in Novi Sad. I would make it clear that the financial means of the EU and progress in accession depend on real steps towards the independence of the judiciary, freedom of the media and the integrity of elections. Above all, I would show that the European Union stands with those who fight for democracy and fair elections, and not with those who try to silence them", Vula Ceci points out.
