Serbian armament raises alarm in the region, MEP calls for urgent response

In a live interview with Euronews Albania, Croatian MEP Davor Ivo Stier was asked by journalist Esmeralda Mulaj whether Serbia’s arming and its ties with Russia and China pose a concern for Europe and Croatia. Stier clarified that the alarm is linked not only to rearmament, but also to the purchase of offensive weapons.

He said the European Parliament has been the institution most critical of the regime in Belgrade. According to him, the EP has called on the European Commission to change course and halt funding, as the policies pursued so far have not produced positive results.

“Our concern goes beyond rearmament and also includes the purchase of offensive weapons, such as the ballistic missiles obtained from China. The question is what Serbia needs these weapons for. We raised this concern in the European Parliament’s resolution on Serbia as well.

We have observed that the Serbian regime is making no progress whatsoever toward European values. Particularly after the Banjska attack, the European Parliament has also strongly criticized the response of other institutions, including the European Commission. We have asked the latter to pursue appropriate policies, making it clear that Serbia is not implementing reforms and should no longer receive funding.

I would say that the European Parliament has been the institution most critical of policies toward Serbia. Meanwhile, the Commission continues to implement and pursue approaches in the hope that they will produce results, although so far the results have been negative.

It is, of course, a worrying statement. Instead of heeding the messages from European institutions, particularly those from the European Parliament, Belgrade, as we have seen so far, continues to pursue its own policies. For example, just yesterday Serbia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a verbal protest note against media freedom in Croatia.

This constitutes direct interference in the internal affairs of a state, and it is happening at a time when Serbia is on the eve of elections. This is not the right path forward. I believe it must be made clear to Serbia that its domestic policies are not leading it toward the European Union,” the MEP said.