EPP faces renewed calls to act over Serbian party’s links to Vučić
Usagevpn.com – Senior figures in the European People’s Party are pressing its leadership to consider suspending or removing Serbia’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party from the centre-right European political family after the funeral of Ratko Mladić drew high-level Serbian participation and state honours.
The debate intensified as EPP members gathered in Toulouse for a political assembly on Tuesday. Their concern centres on the official response to the death of Mladić, the former Bosnian Serb military commander convicted of war crimes and genocide, who died in late August at the age of 84 while held in a United Nations detention facility in The Hague.
For some EPP lawmakers, the funeral has become a decisive test of whether the SNS can remain aligned with the values expected of an associated member party. They argued that the involvement of prominent Serbian officials and the use of state honours require a stronger response as the EPP continues its formal examination of the party.
Funeral controversy sharpens political divide
Mladić was widely known as the “Butcher of Bosnia” because of his role during the Bosnian war. The participation of senior Serbian representatives at his funeral had already prompted condemnation from the leaders of EU institutions, placing further scrutiny on Belgrade’s political leadership.
Lukas Mandl, a senior EPP member of the European Parliament, said the Serbian party has no meaningful place within the group’s political framework.
“There is not an inch of Vučić’s policies that would fit into the EPP universe. EPP is for the people, not for autocrats,”
Mandl called for the SNS to be expelled, citing what he described as deeply troubling conduct surrounding the burial of a major European war criminal from the twentieth century. His comments illustrate the growing frustration among EPP members who believe the existing review should lead to a clear political outcome.
The dispute also carries consequences beyond party membership. The EPP is one of Europe’s most influential political groupings, and its relationship with the SNS has long provided the Serbian party with an institutional connection to mainstream European centre-right politics. A suspension or expulsion would signal a sharp deterioration in that relationship at a sensitive moment for Serbia.
Review began after protests crackdown
The EPP opened its scrutiny procedure involving the SNS one year ago, following the Serbian government’s crackdown on anti-corruption demonstrations. The process is expected to be completed before the end of this year, though it has no fixed deadline and does not predetermine whether the party will face sanctions.
No membership decision is expected before Serbia’s elections on 25 October. That timetable means the EPP’s internal dispute will continue alongside a national campaign in which Aleksandar Vučić remains a central figure.
Vučić formally stepped down as Serbian president last Sunday and is now standing as the SNS candidate for prime minister. He led the party from 2012 until 2023, when Miloš Vučević became its president. Despite that handover, Vučić is still broadly viewed as the party’s effective leader.
Manfred Weber, who leads the EPP, has criticised the Serbian government’s involvement in Mladić’s funeral. He has not, however, proposed stripping the SNS of its membership. That distinction matters because public criticism alone does not begin the formal process required under EPP rules.
How an exclusion could proceed
The party’s rules set a high threshold for formal action. A proposal to suspend or exclude a member may come from the EPP Presidency, or from seven member parties representing at least five countries. The final decision rests with the Political Assembly.
This procedure gives the EPP leadership and its national member parties significant control over the outcome. It also means that calls from individual lawmakers, even senior ones, must develop into broader support before the SNS can face a binding vote.
The SNS has held associated-member status within the EPP since 2016. Associated membership offers a political link, but it is distinct from full membership and remains subject to the group’s internal standards and decisions.
The Serbian party has not commented publicly on the latest calls for action. Its silence leaves unresolved whether it will challenge the criticism, address concerns about the funeral, or wait for the scrutiny process to reach its conclusion.
For the EPP, the issue is increasingly about credibility as well as procedure. Members pressing for removal argue that affiliation with a party associated with conduct they regard as incompatible with European democratic values risks undermining the group’s own stated principles. Others may favour allowing the established review to run its course before making a final judgement.
Whatever course is chosen, the case is likely to remain politically charged through Serbia’s October election and into the final months of the EPP review. The eventual decision will determine whether the SNS retains its European centre-right affiliation or becomes a prominent example of an associated party losing that connection.
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