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It is a lie that everyone in the European Parliament is against Serbia. It is not just the Greens, the leftists and the liberals who have attacked and accused us for years. True patriots and true Europeans support the Serbian struggle for freedom, dignity, truth and sovereignty. With these words, the deputy and general secretary of the ruling Serbian People’s Party, Jovan Palalic, reacted to the latest appearances of the MEP Viola von Cramon, who these days, as the EP rapporteur for Kosovo, is much more present in the media nationals than, for example, Vladimir Bilchik. , his colleague in charge of reporting on Serbia.
His assessments of the situation in our country are, in general, more acute than Bilchik’s, and his response is more blunt, which is why Von Cramon “inscribed” himself on the list of those MEPs with whom the Serbian authorities have had a hard time finding a common language for two decades. The women seemed to be more impressive, from Doris Pack, through Ulrika Lunacek and Tanja Fajon, to Viola von Cramon, from, for example, Eduard Kukan, Jelko Kacin, Igor Soltes, David McAllister, who were also EP speakers for this region. Their reports were not calmly awaited and representatives of Serbia often argued with some of them in public. Thus, an image of the European Parliament was created in a part of our audience, in which “anti-Serb” deputies are the rule and “pro-Serbs” the exception. The recent appearance of the French parliamentarian Thierry Mariani, who criticized Von Kramonova’s report on Kosovo in the EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee, described it as unbalanced, blind and ideological.
Of course, not everyone is the same in the EP, notes Slobodan Zecevic of the Institute for European Studies, adding that MEPs, mainly from the extreme right or extreme left, are very supportive of Serbia. Furthermore, as he adds, Vladimir Bilchik makes relatively moderate statements about Serbia, and belongs to the most powerful group of the European People’s Parties (EPP), which has a much more measured attitude towards Serbia and the situation in our country. Speaking of how the image of the EP is created, Zecevic first points out that we are focused on those who criticize the authorities in Serbia, and those are the green and social democratic groups in the EP. “Objectively speaking, the problem is not only that these two parliamentary clubs criticize the Serbian government, but that this time they really gained political importance with the decisions of the EU institutions (European Commission, European Council and Council of Ministers). The enlargement negotiations were halted this year precisely because of these critical remarks about the situation in Serbia. That is why now it has come to the fore ”, estimates Zecevic.
Thierry Mariani, a member of the Marin Le Pen National Assembly, who belongs to the right-wing group of the EP – Identity and Democracy, with 75 MPs, the fourth largest in the EP, often speaks in favor of Serbia or the Serbian people. Palalic says that Mariani is his personal friend and underlines that there are other Serbian friends in the EP – such as Julie Leshento, Silvia Sardona, Isabella Tovaljeri – unlike representatives of the European left, who, he adds, were almost always against Serbia or it was not objective. during previous crises and conflicts. Both Tanja Fajon, who comes from the group of Social Democrats (S&D), and Von Kramonova from the Greens, as well as their colleagues, have always advocated Serbian guilt policy in the Balkans, and that is the ongoing narrative. “I reacted because they interfered in the internal politics of Serbia, not speaking objectively about whether the situation in our country is good or not from the point of view of democratic processes, but by encouraging the opposition,” Jovan Palalic told “Politika”.
Mariani’s party partner Julie Leshento recently, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Dayton Agreement, criticized the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on social media, more precisely the international “tutelage” over him. “International judges, violating the principle of fairness, too often sided with Bosnian judges, leaving Serbian and Croatian judges in the minority, guided more by political decisions than legal ones,” he said. Isabela Tovaljeri, MEP of the Mateo Salvini League, believes that there is a great friendship between Serbia and Italy based on common cultural and Christian roots, and that it is important to strengthen relations between Serbia and the EU. As he said last year, Serbia is a central country to strengthen the idea of a Europe that prides itself on Christian values and opposes a dictatorship called “political correctness”, as well as condescension towards increasing Islamization. Sylvia Sardone, also from the League, was in Kosovo and Metohija last year during the elections and says, according to media reports, that she has not seen any essential measures to protect the human rights of members of minorities who are in her Christian majority, and that Serbs are a constant target of the Albanian majority. .
Palalic also highlights that in the EPP (187 out of a total of 705 MEPs), they have a more balanced position on the issue of Serbia, although they do not act solely in favor of Serbia like the Identity and Democracy group. The SNS, which is an associate member of that group, works with the EPP. “There are some nuances of difference between Bilčik and Tanja Fajon,” says Palalić, recalling that the Spanish People’s Party, which is part of the PPE, is against any policy of recognition of Kosovo and has always been friendly with Serbia. This is Forza Italia, also in the PPE, and Victor Orban’s Fidesz.
Slobodan Zecevic also points out that the largest party in power, the SNS, has good relations with certain parties that are in the EPP. There is Viktor Orban’s party, and they have relatively good relations with Angela Merkel’s party. Contacts, meetings, cooperation are generally established with a group related politically and ideologically: the progressives with the European popular parties, and our opposition works mainly with the Social Democrats and the Greens. But … “There will always be a problem: do you meet the essential conditions to join the EU, is the environment such that they want to accept you and how many problems do you carry with you? What is specific about us is that we have a jule tied around our leg called Kosovo. This is a serious problem that we have in our relations with the EU and the United States. For this Kosovo problem to take a back seat, we would have to be almost perfect in all other areas, “Zečević explains.
Palalic believes that Serbia has many friends in the EP, but believes that more work should be done on that issue. “Before the crown, I went regularly to the European Parliament and spoke not only with the deputies, but also with the people who work in the administration; there are many who want to hear our story. They are not sufficiently informed on our part and we need to work even more with them so that the voice of these friendly Members is better heard in the EP. Thus, this false image of that institution would disappear, which is created in our media through the actions of left-wing parliamentarians who are aggressively against the Serbian government and for the opposition. It seems to me that we have focused too much on the European Commission, but you can see that the EP can create an atmosphere that does not suit us, ”says Palalić.
That not everyone is from the right is shown in the case of the German party Linke (left), whose members of the Bundestag, such as Jacqueline Nastic, Sevim Dagdelen and Alexander Noah, often speak in a similar way to the aforementioned right-wing MEPs. People on the right Alternative for Germany (AfD), such as Jens Kestner and Anton Frizen, also understand Serbia’s position on the Kosovo and Metohija issue. Isn’t it just the conservatives, some right-wingers and far-rightists like us?
Palalic responds: “If we want to say extremely objectively, from the center right to the right (EPP, European Conservative Reformists and Identity and Democracy) is a space where the EP can seek support and understanding for Serbia, for an independent Serbian politics, this one that now leads, in defense of Kosovo, the Republika Srpska. When it comes to the left, very difficult. They could not do that in previous years, when the Democratic Party, which is in the Socialist International, was in power, and that will remain difficult. “Greens, social democrats, liberals, they just stick to that Serbian responsibility matrix of the 1990s, they are in the position that Kosovo is independent, that RS should be abolished, that Serbia is everyone’s fault. crimes and wars, “Palalic said.
He also believes that they will always say that there is not enough democracy, human rights and freedoms in Serbia, because, as he emphasizes, party affiliation should not be underestimated either. They want those with whom they are close, who are currently in the opposition, to come to power in Serbia. “That is why they are acting so drastically against the Serbian authorities, and that is extremely biased,” Palalic believes.
The S&D and the Greens are more against integration
The S&D and the Greens are overwhelmingly against the integration of Serbia into the state it is in now. But we cannot say that they hate the Serbs, that would be too much, emphasizes Slobodan Zecevic and adds: “There are many problems and mistakes on our part, there are also theirs. But a whole parliamentary club cannot be declared anti-Serbian; It can be said that they are opposed to joining the EU, that they are opposed to the policy of the current Serbian government. But I don’t know how constructive it is to say that the entire parliamentary club is anti-Serbian. “
A group around Le Pen to renew friendship
Jovan Palalić claims that he did everything he could to send his political friends everything he thought they might react. “Thierry Mariania, people from the League and others … I only ask you to say something if you can, if you have space. “My party has contacts with this group, so I can do something there,” he explains. It is specific to the French, because the whole group around Marin Le Pen loves Serbia very much and wants the friendship between Serbia and France to be renewed. They are quite active and are on the side of Serbia in all situations.
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