SCHIEDER ON THE PROTESTS IN SERBIA: The regime has raised violence to a new level, the EU must be stricter!

The head of the delegation of the Social Democratic Party of Austria to the European Parliament, Andreas Schieder, stated that “the escalation of violence in Serbia in recent weeks is unprecedented; the attacks on opposition politicians and demonstrators are shocking and must be condemned in the strongest terms.”

“The regime in Serbia has previously resorted to disproportionate police force. However, Vučić, who is now under pressure due to the protests, is raising that violence to a new level. He slanders the demonstrators, calls them criminals, and openly threatens his own citizens,” Schieder, a former observer at the elections in Serbia, said in an interview for the weekly magazine Vreme.

He emphasized that the European Union must be stricter and more consistent in the accession process.

“If a country is making progress, we must fulfill our promises and we cannot keep it in the waiting room forever,” he said.

“But if a country is going in the wrong direction and violating the basic principles of the EU, we must freeze financial support,” Schieder stated.

When asked how he explains the “curtain of silence,” as he previously called Brussels’ behavior, he noted that “Serbia is a close partner to many European countries, including Austria during the time of former Chancellor Kurz.”

“Especially the countries led by the European People’s Party (EPP) often turn a blind eye when it comes to their party friend Vučić. In addition, the EU has economic interests in Serbia, which many European leaders do not want to jeopardize,” Schieder explained.

When asked if that curtain of silence would fall soon, he said he hopes so but is not “too optimistic.”