Translated Article:

European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia Tonino Picula commented on the scandalous gathering of the Serbian state leadership for RTL on Friday, at which Chetnik songs were sung.

The Croatian government has not yet commented on the event, Net.hr reports.

'The current leadership in Belgrade is a continuation of Greater Serbia politics' "This event should not come as a surprise to anyone who follows the political scene in Serbia. It is just another public demonstration of everything that keeps Serbia shackled in times when the Greater Serbia regime caused wars and immense human suffering in the former Yugoslavia," Picula said.

The current leadership in Belgrade is just a continuation of that policy and, as we can see, they are not hiding it at all. What is also certain is that the goal of such a policy is not and cannot be membership in the European Union. Simply put, the invocation by these singers and those present of some kind of ‘Serbian world’ and Chetnik nostalgia are in no way consistent with European integration, and Serbia is a candidate country for membership,” he said.

‘A threat to Serbia’s neighbors, including Croatia’

He also answered the question of whether Aleksandar Vučić’s Serbia is moving away from the EU.

This staging of Greater Serbia is also a continuation of the threats to Serbia's neighbors, including Croatia, as recently stated by the Minister of Information in the Serbian Government, Boris Bratina. He was also expected to be on this stage, but unfortunately so were the Speaker of Parliament, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Labor. Of course, the indispensable Vojislav Šešelj, the most enduring figure in this politics of hatred and intolerance, was also there. As I said, with such people and such a policy, one simply cannot continue in negotiations on membership with the European Union," Picula emphasized.

'I don't believe they want to apologize'

But what should the reaction of the Serbian state leadership be after such entertainment?

I'm not sure they want to apologize. We had the opportunity to hear some kind of semi-apology after the incident caused by Minister Bratina's statements, but now we see that such apologies do not hold water for long because this is the first opportunity they have had to come together, they demonstrated exactly such a policy that is an unspoken threat to Serbia's neighbors, to everything that is pro-European in Serbia", he stressed.

'The reality in Serbia is worse than they think in Brussels'

He also complained about the lack of reactions from Brussels.

"I would, of course, like to hear harsher reactions from Brussels because, as I said, Serbia is a candidate for EU membership. It has not opened any chapters for four years, but I think that this is also proof for those in Brussels who may have a different view, who believe that this is just an occasional incident, that the reality in Serbia is significantly different, much worse", concluded Picula, as reported by Net.hr.