Serbia: EU must urgently address alarming crisis
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12 September 2025 – In an open letter to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council António Costa, and Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, PEN Centres from the former Yugoslav region and PEN International raise grave concern over the alarming situation for freedom of expression and other fundamental rights in Serbia and urge immediate and robust EU action.
Ms Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
Mr António Costa, President of the European Council
Ms Marta Kos, Commissioner for Enlargement
12 September 2025
THE EU MUST URGENTLY ADDRESS ALARMING CRISIS IN SERBIA
Dear President von der Leyen,
Dear President Costa,
Dear Commissioner Kos,
We, members of PEN International and writers from the former Yugoslav region, urge you as EU leaders to take a firm and clear stance regarding the volatile and unpredictable situation in Serbia, where the authorities are brutally cracking down on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and other fundamental rights, and intentionally stocking up violence – with entrenched impunity.
Masked individuals, sympathisers of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska napredna stranka), are attacking peaceful protesters and journalists while the police, instead of protecting them, are resorting to excessive and unlawful use of force, further escalating tensions.
Actions being witnessed in Serbia are of the utmost concern: arbitrary arrests, everyday acts of violence by state and non-state actors, allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in police stations, systematic abuse of those who dare express dissenting views and of journalists seeking to report on the protests, including in home and worksite raids. We note with alarm President Vučić’s recent letter to President von der Leyen, which implies that further escalation of violence by state forces is inevitable.
Serbia holds EU candidate status, yet wages repression and violence over dissenting citizens as well as independent writers and journalists. The EU, by remaining silent, risks being complicit in the dissolution of fundamental rights in Serbia. This is not only a betrayal of the citizens of Serbia, but also a betrayal of the European values on which the EU prides itself.
We therefore call upon you to:
Unequivocally condemn all human rights violations committed by the Serbian authorities and send a clear message that pressure and violence against peaceful protesters, writers, and journalists will not be tolerated.
Stress that Serbia’s EU accession process is contingent on the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly being upheld by the Serbian authorities.
Ensure that achieving progress on human rights is at the heart of any decisions to disburse EU funding. Further funding should be used to support civil society and independent media.
The EU must not be just an observer, but a guarantor of the basic human values it claims to cherish. In the name of solidarity, freedom and dignity, we urge you to act now.
Yours sincerely,
Burhan Sonmez, President, PEN International
Lila Cona, President, Armãn PEN
Andrea Lešić-Thomas, President, PEN Bosnia and Herzegovina
Iva Grgić Maroević, President, Croatian PEN
Vladimir Martinovski, President, Macedonian PEN
Adnan Čirgić, President, Montenegrin PEN Centre
Vida Ognjenović, President, Serbian PEN / Vice President, PEN International
Tanja Tuma, President, PEN Slovenia / Vice Chair, PEN International Board
Urtzi Urrutikoetxea, Chair, PEN International’s Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee
Judyth Hill, Chair, PEN International’s Women Writers Committee
Germán Rojas, Chair, PEN International’s Writers for Peace Committee
Ayi Renaud Dossavi, Chair, PEN International’s Young Writers Committee