Tonino Picula, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Serbia, has reacted to a statement by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, who said that no one in the Serbian state wants to meet with representatives of the European Parliament delegation because they are “coming uninvited” to Belgrade.
Picula told the television, “Nova“It is not true that the European Parliament delegation is going to Belgrade uninvited. He said that the Serbian embassy in Brussels has been informed and that the European Union delegation in Belgrade has worked on the meeting program in advance.”
He explained that this is the usual practice of the European Parliament and that there is nothing extraordinary about this visit, except for the reaction of the Serbian authorities and the situation in the country. The aim of the delegation – made up of MEPs from different parties in the European Parliament – is to talk directly with people who represent the feelings of the citizens of Serbia and to gain a more complete picture of the situation in the country.
Picula said that the Serbian authorities appear to have chosen this boycott of the meeting, which he considers a way to avoid dialogue with those who are key to decision-making regarding Serbia’s membership in the European Union.
He also emphasized that the accession documents between the EU and Serbia, as for any candidate country, must be verified by the European Parliament, which is why this meeting is important.
Following the interview, Picula added that Europe expects this meeting to provide clear information and a better view of Serbia’s prospects on the path to the EU, both from those in power and from representatives of the academic community.
He also mentioned that this disagreement about the meeting is not something new for him, but this time the message carries greater weight, because it is about the rejection of talks with representatives of the European People’s Party, which is affiliated with a part of the ruling party in Serbia.
Otherwise, the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabić, has said that the delegation is coming “without an invitation” and that she will not meet with them, as she will be in Estonia during their visit. /Telegraph/