Serbia’s Green-Left Front (ZLF) has accused the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) of exploiting the crisis at Apoteka Beograd for political gain ahead of expected elections, arguing that the government is attempting to solve problems it created itself.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Natalija Stojmenović, head of the Green-Left Front and Free Citizens Movement caucus in the Belgrade City Assembly, said the ruling parties had followed a familiar pre-election pattern.
“First they create a crisis, allow people to work for months without salaries or health insurance, and then, just before elections, they promise to solve part of the problem they themselves caused,” Stojmenović said.
According to the opposition, employees of Apoteka Beograd have gone 16 months without receiving salaries, while pension and social security contributions have also remained unpaid. Although authorities have now pledged to provide overdue wages and operational funding, ZLF argues that no long-term plan has been presented for the future of the public pharmacy institution.
Stojmenović claimed the six-month period announced by the authorities would be used to determine the future of Apoteka Beograd, alleging that the institution could become “a prize to be divided among people close to the ruling authorities.”
She also criticized what she described as double standards within the government, referring to public reports that Serbian Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Snežana Paunović received a director’s salary from the Peć pharmacy institution after it had ceased operating.
“Today, pharmacists who worked for 16 months without pay are being asked to devise an ‘objective and neutral solution’ to make Apoteka Beograd competitive on the market, while no one asked whether the minister’s position was economically justified,” Stojmenović said.
The opposition argues that Apoteka Beograd provides services that extend beyond commercial pharmacy operations, including the preparation of specialized medicines unavailable through private pharmacies. According to ZLF, these services are essential for infants, hospitals, cancer patients, people with rare diseases, and other vulnerable groups.
The party called on the City of Belgrade to preserve the public pharmacy network, protect its employees, and ensure equal access to medicines, saying it has concrete proposals for safeguarding the institution’s future.
