Serbia, the bitter EU

After decades of unfulfilled promises and months of protests against President Vučić, many in Serbia no longer see the EU as a sincere interlocutor truly interested in the democratic future and human rights in the country. A bitter comment from our correspondent

A banner reading “Here you have Vučić and stabilitocracy, leave us lithium and democracy” best depicts the feelings of the majority of Serbian citizens towards the European Union and its attitude towards the ongoing protests in Serbia. This slogan sums up what I think today about the (in)action of the EU.

I am no longer surprised by the double standard policy – or perhaps it would be better to call it hypocrisy – of the European Union. The fact that Ursula von der Leyen and her ilk pat the Serbian president on the back, calling him a guarantor of stability and peace, is certainly noting new either. We have swallowed bitter pills many times supporting Serbia's European path. We had no other choice. The EU, as it is, is the best option we have in this part of the world.

Maybe we, the citizens of Serbia, are the ones to blame. We look at Brussels and the capitals of the member states that continuously emphasize the importance of the rule of law, protection of human rights, functioning institutions, the fight against corruption, not only for the candidate countries, but also for the member states of the Union.

So we naively think that the EU and its institutions should react to the blatant violation of the right of Serbian citizens to participate in free and fair elections. However, we do not expect the EU to notice these violations on its own, so we provide a lot of concrete evidence to show that the elections in Serbia are anything but free and fair, a mockery of democracy.

And what do we get? Usually nothing, because the clichés – which at this point worry us – such as “the EU is closely following the situation, inviting all political actors to dialogue through the institutions, not interfering in the internal affairs of the state” and so on, mean absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, the situation in Serbia continues to deteriorate.

Maybe we have not fully understood the meaning of the word democracy. Maybe it is completely normal to stifle critical thinking, constantly put pressure on the media and civil society organizations, and arrest activists.

By now we should have got used to a context in which the only desirable political order is stabilitocracy, the absence of institutions is considered perfectly acceptable, and a single person holds all the power.

The collapse of a canopy, that claimed sixteen lives, is presented as the consequence of a combination of circumstances, rather than the result of corruption. Similar events – as our government officials claim – also happen in Italy and in other countries, where however no one revolts or takes to the streets to protest.

No European official reacts when students and citizens are arrested in Serbia, and the ruling leadership claims that our police are wonderful and that in France protesters would be brutally beaten.

No one intervenes when hundreds of thousands of citizens are attacked with a sonic weapon while peacefully paying tribute to the victims of Novi Sad. According to our president, all police forces in Europe have such weapons and use them against protesters, but our wonderful and tolerant police did not use them. It is as if thousands of citizens who testify to having experienced that sonic wave were unaware of what happened. And the EU remains silent.

Maybe we were really naive in expecting EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos to address the public after a meeting with Vučić. Okay, maybe we could not understand why the Commissioner wanted to meet the Serbian president after what happened at the hug protest in Belgrade, but we were sure that she would tell him what we thought, because Marta Kos represents a democratic Europe, and all we have ever asked for is respect for democratic principles.

However, Marta Kos wrote on X that she had a constructive meeting with President Vučić. This is not the place, and I do not want to seem rude, although it is difficult for me to resist the temptation to say exactly what I think (like many in Serbia) of this statement by the European Commissioner.

After five months of exhausting protests that show no sign of abating and thirteen years of a reign of terror, I really do not know what is harder to mentally bear: Commissioner Kos’s post about “constructive dialogue” or her attempt to justify herself by claiming she had a limited number of characters, polemically asking who she should have met if not Vučić?

Like many Serbian citizens, I also wrote to Mrs. Kos, but – as expected – I did not receive any answer. If you are not able to understand or if the answer to this question is not obvious to you, please, dear European bureaucrats, at least do not insult our intelligence.

Finally, we do not want lithium to be mined in Serbia. This should be clear by now. Maybe we are really missing a historic opportunity for extraordinary economic growth thanks to a lithium mine, but let us decide for ourselves.

We do not accept the agreements between Brussels and Belgrade like: “you will give us lithium, we will let you stsy in power”. We are not pawns in your hands. We refuse to be Europe’s guinea pig. You can mine lithium in Germany and wherever it can be found (and there is plenty) in your countries. Let us live in our stupidity without lithium.

Dear Sirs, your ambiguous statements are no longer enough for us. It is not enough that you admonish Serbia in your bureaucratic progress reports suggesting that even if you are somewhat critical of the regime, you are still willing to set new deadlines for the Serbian authorities to correct their mistakes, because they have made so much progress so far that Serbia has become a model of democracy that is being studied in the EU countries.

We get the message: you do not care about Serbia and its citizens, and the situation in our society is your last concern. You certainly have smarter things to do. For example, decisively and effectively ending the war in Ukraine. Or resisting the onslaught of the far right. Or responding promptly to Trump’s moves against Europe and the rest of the world. After all, you fight corruption so effectively in your own ranks that you certainly do not have to worry about blatant corruption in a country like Serbia.

We know that enlargement is the last thing on your mind and that we, pro-European citizens of Serbia, will never see any enlargement. We may be underdeveloped and politically illiterate, but we are not stupid. One day, and that day is getting closer, your messages will no longer bother us, and when you may feel it is time to enlarge the EU to the Western Balkans, in Serbia, tired of your empty promises, there will be no one left to vote in favour of joining that Union.

Thank you so much for your help, we will fight alone, no matter what happens. The students will cycle alone all the way to Strasbourg to wake up the sleeping beauty - Europe. There they will be welcomed by about thirty MEPs who support the demands of the students and citizens of Serbia. Maybe Mrs. Kos will be there. Maybe someone else will come too. Maybe they will wake up from their torpor and understand the reality of Serbia. Maybe they will realize that there are interlocutors with whom to talk about what should be the common European values and fundamental freedoms.

Otherwise, here you have Vučić and stabilitocracy, leave us lithium and democracy.