German Bundestag Member Adis Ahmetović (SPD) has delivered a sharp condemnation of Serbian Minister Snežana Paunović, calling her recent remarks incompatible with European values and urging Belgrade to immediately dismiss her from office.
Ahmetović, a prominent social democratic voice on Western Balkan policy in the German parliament, stressed that while countries in the region—including Serbia—have a rightful place in the European Union, there is absolutely no room for state-sponsored nationalism or hate speech within the European community.
The Spark: What Did Minister Paunović Say?
The international backlash stems from a highly controversial television interview given by Snežana Paunović, Serbia’s Minister of State Administration and Local Self-Government and a high-ranking official of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS).
During a broadcast on Kurir TV, Paunović defended the historical legacy of the 1990s and declared:
“If I had been Slobodan Milošević, I would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo in 1998.”
Ahmetović’s Direct Warning to Belgrade
Writing in response to the political firestorm, Bundestag MP Adis Ahmetović made it clear that such rhetoric directly actively harms Serbia’s own European aspirations and destabilizes the wider region.
[ Ahmetović's Diplomatic Warning ]
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[ European Values ] [ The Strategic Impact ]
• Integration requires rejecting nationalism. • Hate speech "torpedoes" the process
• The Western Balkans belong in the EU, of EU enlargement and integration.
but not under a banner of hate. • Demands the immediate dismissal of Paunović
as a signal of democratic goodwill.
A Wave of International and Domestic Condemnation
Ahmetović’s demands are part of a rapidly growing, coordinated diplomatic and local backlash against the Serbian minister:
- Kosovo Declares Paunović Persona Non Grata: Kosovo’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, led by Xhelal Sveçla, officially signed a decree permanently banning Paunović from entering or transiting through Kosovo, calling her remarks a continuation of the same violent, genocidal state policies that devastated the region in the 1990s.
- European Union Censure: The EU issued a statement labeling the minister’s words as “inciting” and harmful to the ongoing EU-facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, reinforcing that such revisionism has no home on the European continent.
- Domestic Backlash in Serbia: Inside Serbia, the opposition Free Citizens Movement (PSG) and student groups (Studenti u blokadi) have launched protests demanding her immediate resignation. Activists argue that a minister in charge of public administration must protect the constitutional rights of all citizens, regardless of ethnicity.
Despite the growing pressure from Berlin, Brussels, and domestic activists, the Serbian government has largely remained silent, while SPS leader Ivica Dačić has defended his party colleague, signaling that a resignation is unlikely without intense external diplomatic pressure.
