“Senseless, unnecessary and anti-European”: Pro-European opposition on the initiative of the People’s Party for a referendum on the Kosovo agreement

Representatives of the pro-European opposition agree that the initiative of the People’s Party to call a referendum on the acceptance of the international agreement on Kosovo, which was recently accepted by both Serbia and Kosovo in Ohrid, is pointless, unnecessary, and that it expresses the anti-European mood of the political option headed by Vuk Jeremic.

According to Marinika Tepić, vice-president of the Freedom and Justice Party, bearing in mind that the agreement became an integral part of Chapter 35 in the accession negotiations with the European Union, it would then be a referendum on giving up European integration.

With this referendum, the People’s Party demands the termination of accession negotiations with the Union

• If this international agreement is an agreement on the normalization of relations, if we know that the implementation of the agreement has become part of Chapter 35 of the negotiations with the Union, it means that you, through the referendum, want to destroy the basic agreement on stabilization and association with the EU. That would be a referendum on ending accession negotiations with the EU – says Marinika Tepić for Danas.

• So far, no government has questioned European integration, regardless of the pace at which it implemented reforms. The Serbian Progressive Party blocked them in 2018, because neither the SNS nor the SPS is responsible for order and respect for the law, the fight against corruption. That referendum, so set up, would therefore be a referendum for the termination of accession negotiations with the EU – concluded our interlocutor.

The European solution is the first step towards reconciliation

According to Radomir Lazović, Ne davimo Beograd believes that the European proposal is an acceptable framework and can be the first step towards reconciliation and cooperation between the two peoples in Kosovo, if a ZSO is formed with significant powers in the field of health, education, spatial planning, culture and cultural heritage protection. It is important to point out that due to the hybrid regime in Serbia, greater certainty of entry into the EU is necessary as a guarantee that Europe is counting on Serbia.

• I think that in this case, the proposal for the referendum is to shift the responsibility to the citizens and to avoid actually dealing with the improvement of relations between two peoples, without whose coexistence there can be no future in Kosovo. I think that we should focus on demanding that the European proposal better protect the rights of Serbs within the ZSO, as well as insisting on membership in the EU as a guarantor of raising the standard of living of citizens and the rule of law – concludes the interlocutor of Danas.

There are no conditions for holding a referendum

Zoran Lutovac, the president of the Democratic Party, also said in a statement to Danas that the party does not support the calling of a referendum initiated by the People’s Party.

• Of course, a decision that encroaches on the foundations of the Constitution requires serious legitimacy, which implies the expression of the will of the citizens. However, calling a referendum would imply that there is a clearly defined issue that enters into the essence of the statement. Vučić denies that it is such an agreement and refers to the fact that it was not signed. If all of this were unequivocally clarified, a sufficiently long discussion would be necessary that would allow citizens to be completely clear about what they are voting for or against – says the interviewee of Danas.

Then, he adds, media accessibility is necessary, which would enable key information and discussions to reach everyone.

• Finally, the conditions for free expression are necessary. All of that is not there, so I believe that the referendum would not fulfill the purpose for which it is called – concludes Zoran Lutovac.

What exactly would the citizens declare about?

Nebojša Zelenović, co-president of the Zajedno party, reminds Danas that the European solution for Kosovo consists of a framework agreement and additional documents, annexes, which then form a complete solution.

• Today we don’t have that complete solution, so I can hardly imagine what, exactly, the citizens would express themselves about. For the citizens of Serbia, it would be crucial for our country to receive a date for acquiring full membership in the EU, with a very precise roadmap for this membership, where it would be unequivocally defined what is the order of our obligations and benefits in this process – Zelenović points out.

Unlike Zelenović, Aleksandar Jovanović Ćuta, who belongs to the same parliamentary group in the Serbian Parliament – “We must – together” – supports the initiative of Vuk Jeremic’s party.

As Miroslav Aleksić, vice-president of the NS, said, the action was supported by Aleksandar Jovanović from the Environmental Uprising and Miloš Parandilović from the New Face of Serbia Movement, and the support of a large number of celebrities is also expected.

The normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo is an absolute imperative

Pavle Grbović points out for Danas that the Movement of Free Citizens believes that the normalization of relations is an absolute imperative.

• Our political obligation is to implement the European plan for Kosovo if we want to become a member of the EU. For this reason, we will not participate in the process of collecting signatures – concludes Grbović.

Let us remind you that Miroslav Aleksić said, among other things, that accepting the “French-German” agreement means the de facto recognition of Kosovo as an independent state, because that document foresees the development of good neighborly relations, the recognition of personal documents and license plates, and that Serbia will not oppose membership of Kosovo in international organizations.

Rejection of the agreement – the end of Vučić

• It is fair and logical for the people to express their opinion on this in a referendum, but the government is running away from it because it knows that the vast majority of citizens are against it, so rejecting the agreement would mark the end of the rule of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić – said Aleksić.

According to him, the referendum should be held before anyone thinks of signing anything.

Asked if rejecting the agreement would mean Serbia’s economic and political isolation, Aleksić replied that such claims serve to scare the citizens of Serbia, so that they would accept the agreement more easily.