Serbia has entered a dangerous phase of intense polarization characterized by an aggressive autocratic clampdown, systemic weakening of democratic institutions, and an undeclared state of emergency, European Parliament (EP) Rapporteur for Serbia Tonino Picula warned on Thursday.
Speaking on a podcast with journalist Boris Breza, Picula delivered a scathing assessment of Serbia’s current trajectory just days ahead of next week’s highly anticipated European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, where lawmakers will debate and vote on the final 2026 Annual Progress Report on Serbia.
“An Undeclared State of Emergency”
Picula traced the current systemic crisis directly back to the catastrophic Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse, which killed 16 people. He argued that the political fallout from that tragedy has permanently altered the country’s landscape.
“I have been saying that Serbia has been in an undeclared state of emergency for a year and a half since the canopy collapse in Novi Sad,” Picula stated. “We can only expect further polarization and a greater attempt at total domination by the ruling party and President Aleksandar Vučić.”
The Rapporteur noted a deeply concerning, measurable spike in state-sponsored violence and legal intimidation over the last year. He observed that if an outside observer with no prior knowledge were to analyze Serbia today, “they would genuinely be unsure whether this is an EU candidate country or a nation preparing to sign a long-term alliance pact with Putin’s Russia or China.”
A Tsunami of Amendments Reflects European Alarm
The level of anxiety in Brussels regarding Belgrade’s current path is reflected in unprecedented parliamentary friction. Picula revealed that the draft of this year’s Report on Serbia was hit with more than 500 amendments—a massive leap from the 300 submitted last year.
- Isolated Scrutiny: Because of the deteriorating conditions, the European Parliament has extracted Serbia from the general Western Balkans portfolio, setting it as a standalone agenda item for debate next week.
- The “United Serbia” Rhetoric: Picula pointed to a massive political rally held in Belgrade where Vučić effectively delivered an aggressive campaign speech despite elections not being formally declared yet. Picula drew a direct, ominous parallel between Vučić’s newly proposed platform and Moscow’s ruling structure: “He announced the ‘United Serbia’ list, which reminds me heavily of Putin’s ‘United Russia’ list. He spoke like a prime ministerial candidate in the middle of a campaign, promising mountains and valleys while vowing to build a hyper-militarized Serbia.”
The Sonic Cannon Cover-Up
The upcoming EP report will also heavily feature the ongoing domestic fallout from the March 15, 2025 anti-government protests, during which authorities are accused of deploying specialized long-range acoustic weaponry (“sound cannons”) against civilian crowds.
Picula accused the Belgrade regime of actively manipulating the narrative and carrying out judicial retaliation against victims, experts, and independent media figures. He reiterated that the European Parliament demanded an immediate, independent international investigation into the deployment of the sound cannon over a year ago, backed by extensive first-hand testimonies and verified medical records.
Picula’s remarks follow a coordinated push by fellow MEP Vladimir Prebilič and over 30 cross-party European lawmakers who formally petitioned the European Commission this week to penalize Belgrade’s aggressive use of the judiciary to silence those affected by the sonic devices.
