Representatives of German parliamentary parties have sent a clear message to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, stating that a candidate country for European Union membership must respect the right to protest.
Lawmakers in the Bundestag made it clear that they support the several-month-long protests in Serbia.
Jürgen Hardt, spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag’s Foreign Policy Committee, said that the incident in Novi Sad and the subsequent demonstrations are a clear sign that Serbia must change something in its foreign policy orientation.
“Serbia relied heavily on Chinese money and knowledge in the past, and this is now coming back to haunt them,” he said, emphasizing that the demolition of the shelter at the Novi Sad train station, which is part of the Chinese Silk Road project, directly burdens the Serbian government.
“Mismanagement and corruption were clearly visible,” stated the representative of the party likely to form the new government in Germany.
Hardt, who, like the rest of his party, advocates for closer ties between the Western Balkans and the European Union, is sending a clear message to the authorities in Belgrade.
“Serbian authorities must listen to the protesters: less China, more European Union.”
Asked about his stance on the protests in Serbia, Boris Mijatovic, the Green Party’s rapporteur for the Western Balkans in the Bundestag, condemned the violence against demonstrators and the attempts at intimidation. He also described as highly concerning reports that gangs were beating protesters to the point of hospitalization.
