Roth: Vucic no longer reliable partner to friends of Western Balkans

For many devoted Europeans and friends of the Western Balkans Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his regime are no longer reliable partners because there is no place for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s servants in the European Union (EU), chairman of the Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs Michael Roth told the daily Nova.

We cannot remain indifferent if the fundamental principles of democracy and rule of law are under pressure in a partner country, we even have an obligation to intervene, said Roth.

The German MP said that, during Vucic’s presidential term, Serbia kept losing the status of democracy in its full scope, and that the election irregularities once again confirmed this alarming trend.

He noted that the international observers in the December 17, 2023 elections reported on the buying of votes and on phantom voters in favor of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party. These are methods, tools of an autocratic ruler, not of a president who is committed to democracy and rule of law and wants to lead his country into the EU, stressed the German MP.

Vucic is not only jeopardizing peace in Serbia, but also constantly causing problems in the region, said Roth, alluding to the deployment of troops along the administrative border with Kosovo.

He said they cannot choose who they speaks with in Belgrade, but added that serious allegation have cast a “very dark shadow on our relations.”

I expect that the relevant authorities and courts will clarify everything regarding these allegations and, if necessary, pave the way for a repeat of elections, said Roth.