The European Parliament (EP) has delivered a powerful validation of civil society concerns, adopting a resolution that places stringent conditions on Serbia’s EU accession path. The text strongly condemns the escalating political polarization and state repression in the country, aligning directly with the alarms raised by the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) regarding shrinking civic space and democratic backsliding.
The Resolution, adopted one year after the Novi Sad tragedy, makes two key demands: justice and democratic reform. It calls for comprehensive and transparent legal proceedings to ensure accountability for the railway canopy collapse. Furthermore, it firmly supports the right to peaceful protest and condemns the state’s use of force and unlawful tactics, including the alleged use of Pegasus spyware and acoustic devices against demonstrators.
The EP explicitly states that Serbia’s EU future is contingent on “measurable progress” in respecting democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental rights. This focus on conditionality, long advocated by BCSDN, is a critical re-prioritization over purely geopolitical considerations.
The Parliament’s message on state responsibility is unequivocal: it holds the Serbian leadership “politically responsible for escalating repression, normalizing violence, and weakening the country’s democracy.”
In its final move, the Resolution demands the full implementation of OSCE/ODIHR recommendations to ensure free and fair elections. Crucially, it supports the prompt deployment of an EU fact-finding mission to assess the situation on the ground.
BCSDN welcomes this critical resolution and calls on the EU to ensure that local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are included in a structured, meaningful way in the fact-finding mission. CSO expertise is essential for providing an accurate, unvarnished assessment of the state of democracy and the severity of repression against activists and citizens.
The Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) has consistently documented and condemned the severe erosion of democratic standards, intensifying repression, and police violence against civil society in Serbia and the wider region. Through sustained high-level advocacy, BCSDN firmly asserts that the protection of civic freedoms and the rule of law must be a non-negotiable, essential priority for genuine progress toward EU accession.