Journalist and writer based in Serbia. He writes columns for web portals Al Jazeera Balkans, Nomad.ba, AntenaM.net, Zurnal.info and Tacno.net.
After six months of protests, there are grounds for hope that the tide is turning in favour of the Serbian student movement: first, the unification of the opposition around the movement’s demand for new elections; second, the emergence of a strategic alliance between the students and the EU.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU’s rhetoric on enlargement in the Western Balkans has taken an optimistic turn. Whether that continues depends on the European vote. But whatever the result, it is the political realities that count. And in the Balkans, these are far from consistently pro-European.
Until recently the EU overlooked the Serbian regime’s disregard for democratic standards, preferring to trust assurances about the country’s commitment to the European path. But support for Russia’s war has made Vučić’s dissimulation impossible to ignore.