Brnabić Finds the “Brighter Side” of an EU Resolution – That Doesn’t Exist

For the European Parliament’s resolution “on polarization and growing repression in Serbia, one year after the Novi Sad tragedy,” described as the harshest to date toward the Serbian authorities, Brnabić told reporters:

“I wouldn’t agree that this is the harshest resolution ever. We’ve had much worse ones from the European Parliament. I think the previous extraordinary EP resolution after the 2023 elections was far harsher and worse than this one. Because that resolution called for what they termed an ‘independent investigation’ into the elections – meaning we’d have to give up an important part of our sovereignty to some foreigners who would question our citizens.”

Yet the alleged “relinquishing of sovereignty” never existed – it is a distortion used by Brnabić to deflect from the fact that the European Parliament reacted to the findings of observer missions about election irregularities and manipulation in December 2023.

That resolution, adopted on February 8, 2024, called for “an independent investigation by reputable international legal experts and institutions into irregularities in parliamentary, provincial, and local elections – with special attention to the Belgrade City Assembly elections, as certain allegations, including voter migration at the local level, go beyond the scope covered by the OSCE/ODIHR report.”

Brnabić compared that resolution with the most recent one, which focuses on the government’s response to protests following the collapse of a shelter structure in Novi Sad.

According to both media reports and the Serbian Progressive Party’s website, Brnabić said that since the previous EP resolution, the number of MEPs voting against had increased from 53 to 103. She stressed that this showed “growing opposition to the non-credible, irrational, and utterly one-sided policy toward Serbia,” adding that more MEPs were no longer abstaining but voting against.

“Even the number of abstentions has doubled, while those voting in favor have decreased. So, when you look at their numbers, it actually shows a completely different picture – that the European Parliament doesn’t want to support such biased and unfair resolutions against Serbia,” Brnabić said, calling this “very good” and “a highly positive signal from MEPs toward Serbia.”

The figures Brnabić cited are indeed correct: the 2024 election resolution passed with 461 votes in favor, 53 against, and 43 abstentions. The most recent resolution on repression of protesters passed with 457 votes in favor, 103 against, and 72 abstentions. So, Brnabić is right that fewer MEPs voted in favor this time – and more voted against or abstained.

But her comparison is a spin – an attempt to downplay the significance of a resolution in which the European Parliament explicitly supported students and citizens’ right to peaceful protest, while condemning state violence.

The two resolutions cannot meaningfully be compared. They address entirely different subjects and political contexts: the first was about election irregularities, months before the Novi Sad incident and the ensuing protests; the second is about the government’s violent and propagandistic response to those protests instead of addressing citizens’ demands through elections.

As for the “positive signals from MEPs” that Brnabić mentioned – there are indeed some, but they are directed at the students and citizens who have been demonstrating for nearly a year, not at the government. The European Parliament expressed support for protesters while condemning the actions of ruling party members who organized an illegal camp in Pionirski Park, later expanding it to the square in front of the National Assembly building.

The EP also condemned Russia’s open interference in Serbia’s protests through disinformation spread by Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, framing the demonstrations as a “color revolution” backed by the West. It rejected accusations by Serbian officials and pro-government media that the EU or its member states were involved in organizing the protests. Instead, the resolution urged the Serbian authorities to combat such malign propaganda in domestic media, rather than participate in spreading it.

Finally, the European Parliament called for urgent, impartial, and transparent investigations into all allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, sexual violence against detainees, politically motivated prosecutions, and other serious human rights abuses – including spitting on and beating handcuffed detainees, verbal humiliation, and death threats.

This English translation was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed for accuracy.