A group of public figures has penned a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, Marti Cos, European Commissioner for Enlargement, Emanuele Gioffre, EU Ambassador to Serbia, and Tonino Picula, European Parliament’s rapporteur for Serbia. They are urging support for democratic processes and anti-corruption efforts in Serbia.

We reach out to you as representatives of the European Union, embodying the values and policies that define our shared cultural and political community, to express our grave concern regarding the current political climate in Serbia.

As we speak, the regime in Serbia faces significant unrest from student and civic protests ignited by the tragic deaths of fifteen individuals due to a canopy collapse at the Novi Sad Railway Station, a consequence of evident corrupt practices.

An investigation into this incident leads us directly to the highest levels of government. The outcry from students, the closure of faculties across Serbia, and widespread protests send a powerful message: the era of corruption must come to an end, as highlighted by N1’s reports.

Our further concern, which motivates this letter, is that the prolonged rule of this regime could not have occurred without the EU’s ambiguous and inconsistent stance towards Serbia, often bordering on overt support for Aleksandar Vučić’s government.

Europe, which has significantly influenced Serbia’s economy for over two decades, seems to consistently overlook the troubling and anti-European traits of the current Serbian administration.

In Vučić’s Serbia, those within state structures who openly oppose crime are being persecuted.

Instances of murder involving public officials are being obscured.

Police officers who uncover state crimes are threatened with fatal repercussions, while those responsible for beating a man to death while in custody remain unpunished.

Workers face threats of termination if they refuse to comply with party officials and participate in regime-sponsored rallies.

Activists, students, professors, journalists, and opposition members are subjected to detainment, arrest, surveillance, and wiretapping, while aggressors from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party are exonerated for their violent acts against citizens.

Yet, the Aleksandar Vučić government enjoys public backing, or at least tolerance, from key European political figures despite practices that clearly violate fundamental European values.

The European Union regards the regime’s complete control over national media, the paralyzed judicial system, the falsified voter rosters, and even state-protected terrorist activities in Kosovo as a minor inconvenience.

In a misguided attempt to distance Serbia from Russian influence, Europe is embracing a capricious and perilous regime and its criminal leader, who threatens citizens with paramilitary units of pro-Russian extremists sworn to defend him.

In this turbulent global climate, the European Union and its political entities must recognize, with absolute clarity, that under Aleksandar Vučić’s rule, Serbia is a territory marked by instability and danger, where current European indifference aligns with Russian influence and organized crime to sustain an openly corrupt regime. This situation poses a substantial threat to the basic rights of Serbian citizens and to regional and European security and stability, as reported by N1.

This is further evidenced by the numerous threats directed at EU citizens within Serbia, including recent abuses by the Serbian police against citizens from Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, North Macedonia, and Albania, who were unlawfully deported from Serbia.

As the regime enters a precarious state, it is now attempting to instigate potential conflicts in the region, simultaneously inflaming nationalist tensions and paranoid fears of “foreign agents.”

At this juncture, the citizens of Serbia are championing the very values that form the foundation of the European Union, advocating for the ideals of an anti-fascist Europe, one that remembers the dangers of authoritarian regimes, propaganda-driven media, pervasive corruption, and the devastation wrought by those who threaten and exploit their citizens.

We invite you, as esteemed representatives of the European Union, to actively engage in supporting a free, democratic, and European Serbia. This involves presenting the need for a clear and accountable EU policy towards our nation, firmly emphasizing the necessity of backing democratic processes, combating corruption, promoting media freedom, and rebuilding the entirely collapsed independent judicial system over the last decade.

We hope you will consider our letter with the seriousness it deserves and that its message reaches the citizens of the European Union, who have the right and responsibility to be informed about events in their neighboring region. We extend our warmest regards.

Sincerely,

Dejan Atanacković, writer and activist

Ivan Lalić, playwright

Aida Ćorović, art historian and activist

Goran Markovic, director

Milica Čubrilo Filipović, journalist

Dušan Petričić, artist

Rade Radovanovic, journalist and writer

Irina Subotić, art historian

Mirjana Đurđević, writer

Dušan Teodorović, academician

Marko Šelić Marčelo, musician and writer

Dubravka Stojanović, professor at the University of Belgrade

Biljana Stojković, professor at the University of Belgrade

Bane Trifunovic, actor

Vesna Rakić Vodinelić, professor at the University of Belgrade

Prof. Dr. Vladimir V. Vodinelić, professor at the University of Belgrade

Ljubodrag Stojadinović, journalist and writer

Petar Peca Popović, journalist

Biljana Vilimon, painter

Nenad Kulačin, journalist and columnist

Marko Vidojković, writer

Kokan Mladenovic, director

Dr. Tatjana Verbić, Associate Professor, University of Belgrade

Stevan Filipović, director

Novi Nebojša Milenković, art historian and writer

Marija Srdić, activist

Nenad Kostić, academician

Dr. Zoran Radovanović, retired full professor at the University of Belgrade

Nebojša Romčević, playwright

Vesna Pešić, sociologist and politician

Ana Kotevska, musicologist

Biljana Stepanović, economist

Dubravka Marković, journalist

Tamara Dzamonja Ignjatovic,

Jelisaveta Tatić Čuturilo, set designer

Tamara Tripić, DD Mreža

Ana Hegediš Lalić, journalist

Dinko Gruhonjić, professor and journalist

Maja Lalić, architect

Marko Lađušić, artist and professor

Ljubisa Jovanovic, professor

Jelica Minić, President of the European Movement

Jelka Jovanović, journalist

Aleksandar Baucal, professor at the University of Belgrade

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