Speaking about the Serbian snap parliamentary elections held on Sunday, Member of the European Parliament Thijs Reuten told N1 that “it’s the great joy that we see on the streets of Belgrade, the hope in the eyes of the people celebrating in the squares, that is the most important thing today.”
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He described the election day as a great day for Serbia.
“I want to congratulate the Serbian people for making a very clear choice for change. I think that people not only voted for change, but also showed, with a high turnout, that they really expect something from this new government. Hopefully it will not only be a new chapter for Serbia, but also mean real change for people in Serbian society, including for the media, including for the civil society, that they will not have to be afraid any more of repression,” Reuten said.
When asked whether the European Parliament will hold a debate on Serbia soon, he said that they would have a debate at the first opportunity.
“It’s important to distinguish between the report from the European Commission that will look back on the past year, that is almost finished, the European Commission will take stock of what happened in the past year, which was not a lot. The European Parliament has the possibility, because our report will come after the report of the European Commission, to also take into account the latest developments, including the possible formation of a new government and a government program that will be presented,” he said.
Reuten noted that it will obviously be “a hell of a job” to form a government first.
“Then come up with a candidate for presidential elections, which is very important, and then also to take real control of all the state institutions and services, and that will be challenging in itself, to make sure that really there is also change that can be felt by citizens, that can be seen within the society, within the judiciary…” he said.
He added that the European Union wants to see reforms not only on paper, but actually implemented.
“You should not do it because the European Union asks it, also the new government will have to do it because they really believe it can bring positive change for Serbia. Then, when that choice has been made, when these reforms are worked out in legislation and implemented, then the European Union of course will stand ready to help Serbia every step of the way,” Reuten concluded.
Teme