Lawmakers from Council of Europe (CoE) member states debated Serbia’s political crisis on Wednesday, warning against democratic backsliding and urging authorities in Belgrade to respect freedom of assembly and expression, investigate violence and open dialogue with protesters.
At the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Swedish lawmaker Victoria Tiblom of the European Conservatives group said she “unequivocally condemned all forms of violence, whether committed by state authorities, pro-government groups or demonstrators,” calling on Serbian authorities to halt excessive use of force and ensure swift, independent investigations.
Lucia Plavakova of Slovakia, speaking for the liberal ALDE group, described the situation in Serbia as “deeply worrying” and accused the government of democratic backsliding. She cited the collapse of a train station roof in Novi Sad that killed 16 people last year as a trigger for mass protests, saying authorities had responded with “denial, intimidation and violence” rather than accountability.
Italian socialist Piero Fassino said demonstrators were condemning “corruption, a repressive system and the violation of basic rights” under President Aleksandar Vucic’s government. He warned that police repression, coupled with unresolved tensions with Kosovo and political instability in Bosnia, posed a risk to regional stability.
Spanish lawmaker Pablo Hispán of the centre-right EPP group said Serbia was “at a crossroads” and urged an inclusive political dialogue, reforms against corruption and greater judicial independence.
From the left, Cypriot MP Giorgos Loukaides called for dialogue with students, civil society and the opposition, stressing that “rights to peaceful assembly, free expression and access to pluralistic media must be fully protected.”
Some Serbian lawmakers defended the government. Biljana Pantic Pilja of the ruling SNS, aligned with the EPP, said protests had blocked roads and bridges and included 24,000 unauthorized gatherings in the past 10 months, arguing that “freedom of assembly does not mean preventing others from moving freely.”
Bosnian MP Sabina Cudic, also with ALDE, said the CoE had failed to monitor Serbia for over a decade despite repeated mass protests, calling it an “unacceptable precedent” and urging the assembly to launch a monitoring procedure.
Other speakers, including lawmakers from Croatia and Sweden, warned that Serbia was sliding backwards on democratic indices and praised student protesters for showing “courage” in demanding institutional accountability.
The debate was held under current affairs without adoption of a resolution or formal monitoring decision.