site.btaSerbian President Vucic Refuses to Meet European Parliament Delegation

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday that he does not want to meet representatives of a European Parliament (EP) delegation because they are “arriving uninvited” in Belgrade on January 22, Serbian media reported.

Earlier in January, Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic also said that the MEPs were coming to Serbia uninvited, arguing that they had “failed to show basic courtesy by coordinating the date of their visit,” scheduled for January 22-24. She added that she would not receive the EP members because on January 22 she has a long-planned visit to Estonia, while during the same period Vucic will be attending the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“I have other commitments planned in Davos. I am not avoiding them, but even if I were in Belgrade, I would not meet with them,” Vucic told public broadcaster RTS on Tuesday. He said it “doesn’t even occur to him to waste time” and that he wants to meet only with people who wish Serbia well, adding that he would do so during his visit to Davos.

In early December 2025, the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs decided to send a ten-member ad hoc mission to Serbia from January 22 to 24, 2026, in response to the political situation in the country, where anti-government protests led by students have been ongoing for more than a year.

The committee’s decision came at a time when the European Parliament’s annual progress report on Serbia’s EU accession path pointed to a slowdown in reforms, a strengthening of anti-European rhetoric by official representatives, a lack of alignment of foreign policy with EU directives, political pressure on the media, and instances of police violence against protesters.

In the autumn of 2025, other members of the European Parliament attended one of the anti-government protests in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad, after which President Vucic referred to them as “the worst European scum”.

Over the past year, mass anti-government protests led by students have been held across Serbia, triggered by an incident in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, when the concrete canopy of a recently renovated railway station collapsed, killing 16 people and seriously injuring one.

Protesters are demanding that those responsible face both political and criminal accountability, accusing the authorities of corruption and calling for snap parliamentary elections.