This week, a delegation from the Party of European Socialists (PES) attended the European Trade Union Confederation’s (ETUC) mid-term conference hosted by ETUC President Esther Lynch in Belgrade. The PES delegation was composed of PES President Stefan Löfven, PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck, and PES Deputy Secretary General Yonnec Polet. Stefan Löfven participated in a panel discussion with Esther Lynch about the future of workers’ rights and met with our member parties in the Serbian opposition. Also in attendance at the conference were PES labour ministers from Lithuania, Austria, and the United Kingdom.
During the panel discussion, PES President Stefan Löfven outlined the vision of the PES for delivering a ‘‘fair deal for workers in a changing world’’ in which he said:
‘‘Europe is it a critical crossroads. In economic terms, in strategic terms, in democratic terms.
International reactionaries are posing an existential threat to our societies, and to the social model we have built over the years. They try to pit workers against the poorest members of our society, only to feed corporate greed and their thirst for power.
This is the reason we mobilise. To combat disinformation online, to defend workers’ rights, including their right to strike, to bring the politics of hope against the politics of fear. When our model is attacked, we must stand together. We will not compromise on our social and environmental ambitions. The cohesion of our society rests on protecting people, including the most vulnerable.
To all those who cuddle up to dictators, those want to make us all smaller, those who try to unknit our social fabric, we have a message: we will not let you pass!’’
During the conference, the PES delegation held a series of constructive bilateral meetings with our member parties in Serbia, Democratic Serbia (DS), and the Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) on the current state of affairs in Serbia following repeated attempts by the Serbian government to suppress the opposition.
The PES stands in solidarity with all those who protest peacefully in the name of democracy and the rule of law in Serbia, both of which have been put under considerable strain under the government of Aleksandar Vučić.
We continue to support Serbia’s EU accession path; however, this accession can only be guided by a concrete commitment by the Serbian government to uphold the rule of law which is still expected.
