The Speaker of the Serbian Parliament and representative of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), Ana Brnabić, stated that during her meetings in Brussels on September 12, the exclusion of SNS from the European People’s Party (EPP) was not discussed, RSE reported.

The possibility had been mentioned by the Chairman of the EPP Parliamentary Group in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, who noted that “the EPP is not blind to events in Serbia,” referring to the ten-month anti-government demonstrations sparked by the Novi Sad incident.

The ruling SNS has been an associate member of the EPP since 2016, and Brnabić told journalists in Brussels that her party is a “solid and reliable partner of the European People’s Party” and that they maintain “excellent relations and constant communication.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić emphasized that the EPP is important for SNS and that he does not expect a change in the party’s status. “Manfred Weber announced that our status will be discussed. We are always ready for dialogue, and I believe that with all the arguments we will face, everything will be fine because I trust that the future of SNS is within the European People’s Party,” Vučić stated on September 12 after presenting contracts to a group of healthcare workers returning to Serbia from abroad.

Excellent Meeting with the President of the European Parliament

The Speaker of the Serbian Parliament met in Brussels with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and meetings with representatives of the European Commission are also planned.

Brnabić said she discussed Serbia’s further European integration with Metsola and described the meeting as “excellent.” She added that during the talks, the presence of European Parliament members at the Novi Sad protests on September 5 was also discussed.

“It is inappropriate for MEPs to attend an illegal, unregistered rally that was violent,” Brnabić stated.

She traveled to Brussels three days after a debate in the European Parliament regarding the anti-government protests in Serbia, during which some MEPs proposed considering additional financial support for Serbia as an EU candidate country.

The rapporteur for Serbia, Tonino Picula, and other MEPs condemned the police use of force against protesters, as well as a statement by President Aleksandar Vučić, who called the delegation of the European Green Party “scum” after they attended the protest in Novi Sad on September 5.

Brnabić confirmed that the Brussels-based NGO, Center for European Policies, canceled a briefing where she was scheduled to speak, adding that anyone interested would still be able to hear her at the Serbian Mission to the EU. According to Beta Agency, the briefing, planned for September 9, was canceled due to her statements about the alleged role of the EU in instigating protests in Serbia.

The months-long crisis and demonstrations in Serbia were triggered by the collapse of a train station shed in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people.

At the large anti-government protests, demonstrators, led by students, demand that authorities be held accountable for the incident. They accuse the police of excessive force in dispersing the protests, which the government denies.

The government also refuses to meet protesters’ demand for early parliamentary elections. | BGNES