The European Union takes very seriously any attempts to discredit members of the European Parliament participating in election observation missions and expects all countries to cooperate constructively with international observers, European Commission spokesperson Christian Wiegand said in Brussels on Friday.
Commenting on Serbian Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabić’s protest over the composition of the European Parliament’s observation mission for Serbia’s parliamentary elections on October 25, Wiegand stressed that international election observation is based on clear standards, impartiality and long-standing expertise.
“When it comes to election observation missions, I want to be clear: we take very seriously any attempt to discredit members of the European Parliament who participate in election observation,” Wiegand said at a press conference.
He added that observation missions deployed by reputable international organisations, including those involving MEPs, play an important role in safeguarding democratic processes and ensuring accountability.
“We therefore expect all countries, including candidate countries and potential candidates for EU membership, to cooperate constructively and transparently with recognised international election observation missions,” Wiegand said.
The European Commission spokesperson reiterated that the EU is closely monitoring the upcoming elections in Serbia, stressing that free, fair and transparent elections are fundamental to European democracy and must be conducted in accordance with European and international standards.
Wiegand also highlighted the importance of the long-term election observation mission deployed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) at the request of the Serbian authorities, as well as the invitation extended to the European Parliament. Both are important steps towards ensuring credible election observation and supporting domestic observers who contribute to the integrity of the electoral process.
Earlier, Brnabić, who is also Serbia’s acting president, sent a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola protesting the composition of the delegation, particularly the appointment of Andreas Schieder as its head.
In her letter, Brnabić claimed that the previous public actions of several members of the mission demonstrated political bias. However, the European Parliament announced that it had no intention of changing the composition of the delegation that will observe the October 25 e
