I write in response to your editorial on Serbia (25 August). Over the past nine months, Serbia has experienced more than 23,000 unauthorised rallies. Most were small, sometimes just a few dozen people, but they disturbed daily life, brought government to a halt, and recently turned violent. More than 170 police officers have been injured. Despite this, police actions have remained limited and restrained, and have targeted only those who damaged property or assaulted officers.
The initial demands of student protesters late last year were met promptly. We opened investigations, released thousands of documents on the railway station renovation and boosted education funding, and the prime minister resigned, taking responsibility for youth clashes over the issue. Nevertheless, demonstrations continued, shifting away from seeking justice and toward overt political aims: the removal of the government outside democratic processes.
Serbia is deeply engaged with Europe and steadily advancing its democratic and economic development. The EU provides more than 60% of foreign direct investment and has committed €1.6bn by 2027 to support reforms. Such a level of engagement is hardly consistent with the idea of Serbia as an “authoritarian” and “malign” outlier in the region. The EU would not invest so heavily in a country where its values and interests were fundamentally rejected.
Serbia is a democracy. It will hold elections before the 2027 deadline, as it has consistently done for more than a decade, and in the meantime it is making progress on electoral reforms. What Serbia cannot accept is violence disguised as activism, undermining institutions that have been carefully built with dedication and the support of its European partners.
Aleksandar Vučić
President of the Republic of Serbia
