The European Parliament (EP) rapporteur for Serbia, Tonino Picula, stated today that it is not true that the EP delegation is coming to Belgrade unannounced, stating that the Serbian Embassy in Brussels was informed and that the European Union (EU) Delegation in Belgrade was working on the visit program. "This is the usual practice of the European Parliament, there is nothing extraordinary about it, except for this reaction of the authorities and the situation in the country," Picula told TV Nova.
Picula said that the main intention of the delegation, composed of various MPs from different parties in the EP, is to "gain a more complete picture of the country in which all sorts of things have been happening in the last year, through direct conversations with those who reflect the mood of the citizens of Serbia."
He added that the decision of the Serbian authorities to boycott the visit of the MEPs is "avoiding confrontation, conversations with those who are key to deciding on Serbia's entry into the European Union."
Picula said that the accession document between the European Union and Serbia, as well as any other candidate country, must pass verification by the European Parliament.
"I think this is a missed opportunity for the most responsible people in Serbia at such an important stage of the process, where they should hear what we think about the candidate country," Picula added.
Picula said that from the upcoming visit to Serbia, the EP delegation "expects to receive additional information and a clearer picture" about Serbia's prospects on its European path.
"We want to do our job correctly, a lot can be learned from various reports, but I think nothing can replace a lively conversation, especially when it comes to MEPs," he said.
When asked whether the EU is demanding more from Serbia than from other candidates, Picula said that one cannot speak of an unfair attitude of the EU towards the candidate country.
"The only thing that has changed in recent years is the methodology of the accession negotiations, but also the geopolitical circumstances. Serbia agreed to the first, and to the second, I would say, it has a position that can be called ignoring, because it is not possible to expect progress in the negotiations and at the same time reject some key elements of the common European foreign and security policy or maintain regular relations with countries that are at war with their neighbors, or neglect reforms of the electoral system or restrict media freedoms," said Picula.
Therefore, Picula emphasized, "we cannot say that this is an unfair attitude towards the candidate country, but rather a matter of expectations that Serbia has agreed to."
Picula said that avoiding conversations with MEPs in Belgrade is not a new situation for him, but it is for most of the MEPs in the delegation.
"This time, this message has additional weight because it is about refusing to talk to representatives of the European People's Party (EPP), of which the ruling party in Serbia is, in a way, a part. So, it is a message to them too - whether the ruling Serbian structure is seen at all in an association that is not without influence in the European Union. It is a message much more to them than to me," he stressed.
Vučić stated yesterday that he does not want to meet with representatives of the EP delegation because they "come uninvited" to Belgrade. He said that he will not be in Serbia when the MEPs arrive, but that he would certainly not meet with them.
Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić also previously stated that the EP delegation was coming without an invitation, saying that she would not meet with them since she would be in Estonia at the time.
The European Parliament mission will be in Belgrade from January 22 to 24, and Vučić will then attend the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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