This is an opinionated article by Engjellushe Morina, Senior Policy Fellow, and Angelica Vascotto, pan-European Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
This winter has seen Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic skating on dangerously thin ice. Mass student-led anticorruption protests have led to the resignation of the prime minister, Milos Vucevic, as well as several other members of his government. Last week, the president hinted that the turmoil could lead to a snap parliamentary election come spring.
But public anger and Vucic’s collapsing government are far from his only problems. Even before the protests, the president’s longstanding “à la carte” approach to foreign policy of hedging Serbia between the West and Russia (with a side order of China) seemed to be in trouble. Both the European Union and Russia have been pressing Belgrade to choose a side. Now, Vucic has found himself with very little international sympathy for his domestic woes—and very little room for manoeuvre.
This gives Europeans a key opportunity to help steer events towards stability and democratic progress while minimising the risk of regional spillover. To prevent prolonged instability and bring Serbia back on track, the EU should support civil society, address regional tensions, and reinforce Serbia’s European trajectory.
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@poVoq
A message from me, if I may express my view again: Not deleting someone’s comment because they could feel as victims of censorship. Hm. At least you appear to be recognizing it as propaganda (if you got you right now), although I don’t understand this argumentation. Because in that case you’d never delete a message, no matter what.
@bungalowtill is very active in the propaganda work. Their sometimes pseudo-intellectual tone makes it almost feel satirical, but it’s Russian and Chinese propaganda and it worsens the debate culture.
[Edit typo.]
No, this is not about “feeling”, this is how it appears to other uninvolved onlookers of the conversation.
Some of these may do that for their 50 cents, but many have lost touch with the world. I consider it a mistake not to delete such comments as this has nothing to do with free speech (bungalowtill’s initial comment is a clear threat to Serbian people), but I’m not the mod here.
This is not about free speech, it is about not running into a clear trap.
The trap is not to delete it. But here it seems we agree to disagree.