The president of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), Dragan Đilas, said today that the party will run in the elections, whenever they are called, together with other pro-European parties, Beta reports.
He said that he includes SRCE, PSG, NPS and the Ecological Uprising among the pro-European parties.
Đilas added that in this pro-European coalition he sees movements, such as Goran Ješić's Solidarity, but also individuals who have been fighting their whole lives for Serbia to be an orderly country, "who understand that the change of government in Serbia is not just replacing (Aleksandar) Vučić with people who will think similarly or the same, and I don't know, maybe act a little differently, but that these are people who truly understand that changing the system here means that we all change and we ourselves have to change."
He stated, during the open part of the SSP Presidency session, that after the elections, cooperation with the student movement would be possible, but that there would be no negotiations with the parties currently in power.
Djilas, as reported by N1, explained that he wants to enter a coalition with parties "that are ready to fight crime and corruption in this country, that want our citizens to have a standard of living like citizens of European Union countries, that want to have such education and healthcare, that are sure when they go out into the streets that they are not in danger of becoming victims of violence, of a showdown by criminals who have grown up with the regime. A country where no one would think of sending 87, as they say, firefighters to the summit where Merz, Macron, Sanchez, Ursula von der Leyen are coming to, to light torches and unfurl banners and shame this country around the world."
According to him, a joint appearance by the pro-European coalition would yield the best results in the elections.
"It is up to us to tell those who, due to the fact that this entire process has lasted 30 years, are disappointed and angry and resentful towards Europe for supporting Vučić, every day what the advantages are and to convince them to return to that idea. When we say Europe, we do not mean formal membership. We mean the fight against crime and corruption as it is waged in the EU," said the SSP leader.
As Djilas pointed out, the main point of their program is "Direction to Europe".
When asked how he experienced the messages from the Tivat summit and whether the door to joining the EU is open for Serbia, he states that when you say "Direction Europe", it means the direction towards a country that does not have crime and corruption at this level.
"When you say the direction of Europe, it means the direction of education in which children receive real knowledge, and teachers have salaries that are at the level of Europe. When you say the direction of Europe, it means healthcare like there, it means everything like the situation there," he said.
He believes that the EU's doors are open to Serbia, "especially with this proposal by Merz and Macron, which, I won't say that this proposal is like this because of us, but that's what we keep saying."
"Europe cannot wait for all countries to fulfill everything that is necessary, so that takes I don't know how many years, and they don't have any special benefits in the meantime. Now it allows that when you fulfill, when you take one step towards the European Union, you get something, then another, and the closer you are to the European Union, you get some things. Is it a single market, are it funds, are it lending conditions as an EU country. So, you get all those things," explains Đilas, alluding to the German-French non-paper on the new, gradual expansion of the EU.
Djilas stated that Serbia should emulate EU members in the areas of education, healthcare and police, adding that "institutions there are doing their job."
He assessed that Serbia is stagnating on its European path due to an irresponsible government that boasts of "false statistics" while organizing looting, corruption, and destroying institutions.
He criticized government representatives for "sitting on multiple chairs," saying that he was not opposed to cooperation with countries outside Europe, but that these arrangements should benefit Serbia.
According to him, Serbia needs a change in the system, which is impossible to achieve if the position of President Aleksandar Vučić is filled by people who think the same way as him.
Vučić has repeatedly said that he will call elections, but he has not yet done so, even though the student movement sent him this request in May last year.
During a recent appearance on Prva Television, he stated that "the elections will not take place during the summer, but immediately after that."
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