European Commissioner for enlargement, Marta Kos, expressed “concerns” on Twitter on Wednesday morning, after fireworks were launched in the Serbian Parliament.
Opposition MPs launched fireworks in the parliamentary session on Tuesday, leaving three MPs injured, following a heated discussion, concerning the concessions of student protests demands.
Kos said: “The parliament must be the place for democratic debate in the interest of all citizens.”
She added: “Recent developments in Serbia targeting civil society organisations are very worrying.” She also called for “de-escalation”, and insisted talks continue on Serbia’s EU future.
Before the violence began, the ruling party proposed to give some concessions to the demands of protesting students and to accept the resignation of PM Miloš Vučević, handed to the Parliament on January 28th. Opposition MP’s opposed the decision, arguing that it would be illogical to accept propositions from a collapsing government.
According to Euronews, Scenes turned to chaos shortly after, as President of Assembly Ana Brnabić was drenched with water by an unnamed MP. She had claimed that MP Jasmina Obradović, of the ruling party, suffered a stroke: “The woman is fighting for her life after you threw a flashbang at her”. The ongoing session had to be suspended as opposition lawmakers used vuvuzelas to prevent discussions from resuming.
Students began protesting in front of the Assembly building on Tuesday night , and the police increased security in front of the building.
According to Free Europe, Journalists and MPs had to endure increased security checks, including a ban on water and food inside the building. The session resumed on Wednesday, March 5th, but without opposition MPs – only 123 out of 250 MPs were present at today’s session. One of the day’s main scheduled points remains to accept the proposal of giving in to the demands of the protesting students, who have blocked one of Belgrade’s main avenues.
According to Free Europe, Head Of Ruling Party SNS Milenko Jovanov called Tuesday’s incidents “unprecedented in the history of Serbia’s Parliament”, directly accusing the opposition: “We didn’t bring smoke bombs, shock bombs, tear gas, eggs, or fire extinguishers, so I don’t know what our fault is in all of this”.
Jovanov insisted his party will continue working and attend Assembly sessions, “no matter what they will do”. He also added that “There is no way they can throw us out of that hall during the session, they can only kill us”.
Opposition leader Marinika Tepić reacted by blaming the ruling party for trying to add other topics on the agenda, despite her party requesting they be removed from the agenda and focus on the concessions proposal. According to her, the ruling party “caused the response they deserved”.
Green Party Leader Radomir Lazović also criticized the ruling party for trying to add new topics to the agenda: “They must not propose any new laws, especially those that govern the long-term future of the country, such as the laws on the EXPO international exhibition and the laws on lithium mining”.
Belgrade was chosen as the city to host EXPO 2027 in May 2027, which is a specialized conference. It focuses on the role of sports and music in human development, as well as well-being and inclusion. Opposition parties have called for the cancellation of the event, claiming that President Aleksandr Vučić intends to use the exhibition as a boost for his political popularity. There are also concerns over the high cost, and corruption accusations under his leadership.
Serbia’s lithium reserves have attracted major companies from abroad like Rio Tinto, but have sparked controversy due to environmental concerns. As a result, the Green Party draft law, which would ban the mining of lithium. The proposal has been signed by 80 MPs. However, the Serbian Parliament rejected the proposed ban in October, allowing the lithium-related projects to resume.
