The authoritarian suppression of mass demonstrations in Serbia, a country that is a candidate for membership in the European Union, requires a stronger response from Brussels, writes The Guardian, assessing that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is increasingly becoming a threat to democracy and that Serbia needs fair and free elections.
"The protesters deserve more support and solidarity from the EU than they are receiving. An autocrat and a cynic, Vučić is a malignant presence in Western Balkan politics," the Guardian's editorial comments.
The text states that Vučić has long nurtured an "insidious and destabilizing ethno-nationalist agenda" outside Serbia's borders regarding Kosovo and Republika Srpska, and that at home he is "increasingly becoming a threat to democracy" and that his call for dialogue is overdue.
European leaders have focused this summer on shuttle diplomacy with US President Donald Trump over trade and Ukraine, while remaining "discreetly silent" about another crisis in eastern Europe, according to the Guardian, adding that Brussels has largely opted to look the other way since the protests began nine months ago.
The British newspaper writes that the demonstrations, among the largest in Serbia's history, quickly grew from a protest over the tragedy in Novi Sad, which is "largely attributed to corruption led by Vučić's ruling Serbian Progressive Party", into a movement for democratic reforms, and that students are now demanding early elections and "a new era of transparency and accountability in a country that remains a candidate for EU membership".
"As anger and frustration on the streets grew, Vučić's response became increasingly draconian. Claiming baselessly that foreign agitators were seeking an 'imported revolution', the president launched a ruthless crackdown on civil society groups that receive funding from abroad," writes the Guardian.
He adds that in August, "orchestrated mobs" attacked protesters on the streets and allegedly looted businesses owned by Vučić's opponents, and that there were many reports of police brutality.
The authoritarian response to the protests has contributed to a decline in public trust in a leader "who used the power of the state to achieve his political interests," writes the Guardian, recalling the OSCE's assessment that last year's parliamentary elections were marked by media bias and the use of state resources to influence voters.
The Guardian assesses that the EU has significant economic influence that it can use if it wants, pointing out that the EU provides more than 60 percent of foreign direct investment in Serbia and has promised 1,6 billion euros by 2027 if it fulfills reforms.
"But Brussels does not want to see the country slip further into Russia's orbit and, as a result, is softening any criticism of Vučić," writes The Guardian.
Vučić, for his part, adds the daily, is "cunningly balancing" on the geopolitical scene, sending weapons to Ukraine through third parties, as well as to Moscow, and guaranteeing the EU access to Serbia's significant lithium reserves.
Vučić's call for dialogue with protesters came late, according to the Guardian, adding that Serbia needs free and fair elections to reverse the slow movement towards autocracy over the past decade.
"At a time when the EU's liberal values are being questioned in Washington, as well as in Moscow and Beijing, the Union must stand up for them much more forcefully in the fight for democratic reform that is being waged just beyond its borders," the Guardian concludes.
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