As many as eight embassies of European Union countries, including Quinte countries, on the same day strongly condemned the attacks by government representatives and pro-regime tabloids on KRIK journalists and members of the non-governmental organization CRTA.
This kind of reaction by the EU has not been common so far, and criticism has been moderate and dosed so far. Nova.rs interlocutors interpret the strong message of the EU countries that the media and civil organizations should provide security and free work as Europe's aspiration to become more actively involved in solving major social issues, noting that the Union has stopped turning its head to problems in Serbia.
The attacks on KRIK and the NGO CRTA, which were condemned simultaneously by the embassies of the USA, Britain, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Finland, Belgium, and Italy through the speeches of the representatives of the ruling majority in the Assembly, as well as through the pro-regime media.
"Journalists and civil society are an integral part of a functional democracy. Campaigns in the media that slander their work, and which are supported by certain members of the Parliament, are unfounded and should stop", said the embassy of the Netherlands in their tweet where, in addition to Crta and KRIK, they marked Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, Minister Gordana Čomić and the EU Delegation in Serbia.
Commenting on the reaction of the EU member states, the president of the European Movement in Serbia, Jelica Minić, told Nova.rs that the mentioned messages confirm what was already announced within the new methodology of Serbia's accession to the EU, which refers to the greater participation of the Union member states in the very to the negotiation process.
"This is proof that there will be their more serious political involvement and direct confirmation of that announcement. I think that this will be an established practice and that the member countries will be much more engaged and interested in the situation in Serbia", Minic said.
On the other hand, diplomat Srećko Đukić points out that the time of looking through Serbia's fingers has passed and that all the bonuses in the European Union have been used.
"Europe has finally understood where this ship is sailing and that it is not going in the direction of the Union, but in some other direction", says Đukić, adding that Serbia has a lot to do with European achievements and that it is therefore logical that the EU is interested in the situation in to her.
"They have the right to point out Serbia's shortcomings and that many things are wrong, such as the attitude towards journalists. However, I expected that Europe would start doing it much earlier and more regularly, but it seems that they have only now realized that the devil has taken the joke and that Serbia is 'just waving at them, while rowing in the opposite direction from the West'. Attacks on journalists should always be reacted to, and this cannot be interpreted as interference in the internal affairs of the state. "Just as human rights are universal, so are the rights of journalists, and no one can be accused of pointing out problems in that sphere," he explains.
"The EU understands that the malignant influence of Russia and China has appeared in Serbia"
Đukić adds that it has been shown that "looking through the fingers" of Serbia by the European Union does not bring anything and that it will become an established practice to react from Brussels to all problems in Serbian society.
"Unfortunately, such reactions were not common, and that is why Europe is facing a serious loss of Serbia, which was drawn into the malignant influence of China and Russia, which is spreading more and more," he notes.
Minic followed up on this statement by saying that the influence of China and Russia is certainly one of the more important reasons why the EU became more actively involved in social events in Serbia.
"However, it must be taken into account that these processes of separation from the European Union, as the main center of gravity, especially in Serbia, have already gained momentum. China and Russia, Turkey and some Arab countries occupy an increasingly large space in the economic sphere. Therefore, a quick reaction of the European Union is necessary," she says.
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