Kos responds to Vučić's insults: When EP members are called scum, it reveals a questionable understanding of democracy

European Commissioner Marta Kos has reacted sharply to the insults that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić directed at members of the European Parliament, who appeared at a protest in Novi Sad on Friday. She said that such attacks reveal a "questionable understanding of democracy" and made it clear that Serbia is further undermining its international reputation with such moves, N1 reports.

"We have a problem in Belgrade," Kos said after a meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger in Vienna.

"When members of the European Parliament are called scum, it reveals a questionable understanding of democracy. Statements by President Vučić and Parliament Speaker Brnabić against the EU will also not improve Serbia's reputation in Europe."

The Commissioner reminded the authorities in Belgrade of the obligations they assumed before the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and before her personally.

"The advice for the Serbian government is clear - focus on the reforms that have been promised. This means an independent judiciary capable of fighting corruption, free and independent media, and an electoral law that guarantees that only the will of the citizens decides on the majority in parliament," Kos stated.

She added that citizens have the right to protest, but that violence on the streets and acts of vandalism must stop, with the expectation that the police act appropriately and with full respect for fundamental rights.

Vučić called the members of the European Parliament who attended the protest in Novi Sad "scum", claiming that they were "the worst scum that gathered there", according to N1.

He accused them of "brutal interference in Serbia's internal affairs" and threatened that anyone who, as he said, "attempts to destroy Serbia from the outside" would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.