There’s not so much free press in Serbia left anymore. N1 is one of them. And I would say, but it’s not enough, but I would say everybody should defend free media and should defend the independence of N1, European Parliament member Kathleen Van Brempt said in an interview to N1.
Since the session in Strasbourg some two weeks ago, there have been new developments here in Serbia. One of the students was threatened with death by a member of the ruling party. That member later threatened the media as well. One of the detainees was taken to his father’s funeral in chains. So how do you see these developments since Strasbourg?
Well, I’m very worried because from week to week the situation seems to get worse, to deteriorate. Every element of democracy is under attack now in Serbia. The right to demonstrate, free media, the right of students to criticize. All elements of democracy are under attack and it’s getting severe and more severe and so it’s really very worrisome and I think it’s really important that we keep it on the political agenda also in the European Parliament and we force the Commission to take Well, stringent actions.
And since Strasbourg, we had this report by the Russian Secret Service saying that there is a Maidan being planned for November the 1st, which is an anniversary of the fall of the canopy at the same time. And of course, the government accepts this narrative as well, calling this a colored revolution for months. But at the same time, they send the message that they are the only politicians that can take Serbia to the European Union. However, we do know that nothing, no clusters have been opened since December 2021. So how do you see these, let’s say, opposing messages?
Well, first of all, I think it should be crystal clear to everybody that the narrative coming from Russia is always a narrative against the European Union, but also against the Serbian people and against democracy. I know it’s a huge discussion within Serbia because of years and years of misinformation coming from Serbia, of course, did its work also within the public opinion. But I think it should be crystal clear, a narrative coming from Russia is a false narrative. Secondly, I think any government can take Serbia into the European Union on the basis of a true, well-functioning democracy that continues to strengthen the rule of law, but also make sure that there is freedom of speech and freedom of the press. And I think the thing that is necessary now is to go to free and fair elections in Serbia. That is the best guarantee for the future of Serbia and for the future of Serbia within the European Union.
You also mentioned free media, one of the main questions especially for N1 here, is the pressure that the government is pushing on N1. We heard that intercepted conversation between the United Group CEO and the CEO of a state-owned telecom here in Serbia, where they say that Aleksandar Vucic wants to fire the director and wants to divide our company to make us smaller. He also said back in February that by November, some of our journalists will be fired, others will be taken to be PRs of the state ministries. Today we have a meeting in London between the CEO of our company and the former editorial board chief of N1, Brent Sadler, who has been talking quite a lot against N1, especially for tabloids and so on. So how do you see this attacks on media, especially on N1?
Well, there’s not so much free press in Serbia left anymore. N1 is one of them. And I would say, but it’s not enough, but I would say everybody should defend free media and should defend the independence of N1. And I don’t know whether people see the similarities of what’s happening in Hungary the last couple of years, but more recently what is happening in the United States, where people who speak out, are critical of the government, are under attack, get fired, have to leave their jobs. And so I think it’s extremely important that you see the similarities of the downgrade of very important elements of democracy. And that’s the reason why we in the European Parliament put it high on the political agenda, because it’s extremely important that both the council and the commission are very much aware that what is happening in Serbia is textbook what has happened in Hungary, but what’s also happening in Georgia. Serbia is, of course, a very important country also for the European Union. It’s a very important country to come to the European Union in the near future, but it should be based on true democracies. And the fact that there are so many similarities happening all over the world, in the United States, but also in the neighborhood of the European Union, should be a wake-up call for Europe, I think with the institutions are the only ones at this stage in Europe that can uphold democracy. So it’s high time that we go into action there.
And there is, of course, a fright that the European Union couldn’t help Serbia in, let’s say, in a big way, because if we look at Hungary at the moment, where all the TVs are controlled by Orban, there are only a few portals left. So how can the European Union help Serbia if it couldn’t help in Hungary, which is a member of the European Union?
That is a very relevant question. First of all, it indicates that we need to reform the European Union’s institutions and our treaty itself. Today it is not possible to force a country out of the European Union. Today it’s always the decision of the country itself. where the people of the UK have decided to leave the European Union based on a referendum. But I think it’s not okay that you are a member of the European Union, but you do not uphold the basic fundamental values. One of them, of course, is the rule of law of democracies. And you do not uphold these values. We have tried a lot of things with Hungary within the boundaries of the treaty. mainly what we call Article 7, and try to make sure that they do not have voting rights anymore. We didn’t succeed in that. Where we succeeded is to withdraw or not pay grants to Hungary from the cohesion fund and other funds. But still then, Orbán kept on walking the same path. Sometimes he sort of backslashed a little bit, but overall we haven’t succeeded in that. So for the future, it is important that we change the treaties. You cannot become a member of the European Union if you do not have the basic values, and then of course all the acquis and all the other things, but the central point is the basic values, democracy, equality of people, all these things are of extreme importance, but at the same time, once you are a member of the European Union, you cannot stay that forever if you do not comply with these fundamental values. And so when it comes to Serbia, we cannot… proceed in the enlargement process at all if democracy is not reinstalled with all the aspects including that democracy. And of course, the key question for democracy is free and fair elections.
And Mr. Vucic is denying snap elections. He’s saying they could happen in winter 2026. So looking at the situation now, do you see this situation in Serbia continuing for another year? And even if we have snap elections with the conditions at the moment, the full control of media, the register of voters, which is not updated, can those elections be free and fair?
That’s a very difficult question to answer in the sense that I think the situation today in Serbia is no longer guaranteed for free and fair elections. Maybe free, but absolutely not fair in the sense that it might happen again, question mark, that there is no cheating during these elections, that they are organized in a free way. Again, question mark. But fair? Absolutely not. To be able to have fair elections, you need equal access to media, social media, but also regular media. You need equal access to support of the institutions to organize yourself in political parties and lists. And that is today not the case, let alone that also the rules and the regulations on… On the elections today, they should change to become much more equal for everybody. But even if it’s not a fair election, I guess the Serbian people more or less had it with this Vucic government that has been overtaken by Russia and other foreign influences. And I think Serbia and the Serbian people should be able to to determine their own future.
We heard many groups in the European Parliament speaking on the situation in Serbia for the first time. We heard EPP as well, they have their own scrutiny process with SNS. How do you see the stand of EPP?
Well, let me start with a positive note. I’m very happy that finally, I would say, they see the problem with Vucic’s party and Vucic’s government. It took them very long, but I’m very happy that they start to see that there’s a huge problem and that Vucic is in the same category as Orban in Hungary, and they kicked finally Orban out. But I as long as SNS can remain part of the EPP, they feel very powerful. They claim to be pro-European, EPP, and I really want to believe that they are pro-European, but you cannot include a pro-Russia party in a pro-European party. That is not possible.
Source: N1
