Original article (in Serbian) was published on 23/1/2026; Author: Stefan Kosanović
The portals Pink and Informer has published articles portraying claims from an opinion piece by European Parliament member Vladimir Prebilič, published in the weekly newspaper Radar, as support for what they described as “violent blockades” in Serbia. The tabloid articles also claimed that a European Parliament Mission had come to Serbia to “back up violence”, rather than to establish facts. As evidence, they cited a post by the head of Serbian National Assembly, Ana Brnabić on the social media platform X, which repeated claims that have previously been denied, including a claim that the delegation sought to avoid an exhibition on the Jasenovac genocide. Prebilič’s original text, however, focuses on the deterioration of the political situation in Serbia, describes student protests as a fight for justice, freedom and democracy, and highlights the need for reforms of electoral conditions and the media. The articles published by Pink and Informer are the latest in a series of inflammatory and derogatory pieces targeting the European Parliament Mission during its visit to Serbia, echoing a narrative that government officials have been consistently promoting through social media and public appearances.
The web portals Pink and Informer manipulated remarks by European Parliament member (MEP) Vladimir Prebilič from an opinion article he authored for the weekly newspaper Radar.
“MEP admits: We came to support violent blockades in Serbia,” the tabloids said in their headlines, claiming that a European Parliament Mission had arrived in Serbia to “back violence”, rather than to establish facts.
The articles published by Pink and Informer also cited a post made by the head of SerbianNational Assembly, Ana Brnabić, on the social media platform X, in which she addressed the European Parliament delegation in a confrontational tone.
That post repeated almost identical claims to those in the tabloid articles, adding previously used and already debunked allegations, including the claim that the delegation had sought to avoid an exhibition on the Jasenovac genocide. The delegation denied that claim, and photographs show that its members attended the exhibition.
What did Prebilič actually write in his opinion piece for Radar?
He compared Serbia in November 2024, when he last visited the country, with Serbia today, saying it had in the meantime become “unrecognisable and elusive.”
Prebilič said the collapse of a railway station’s canopy in Novi Sad had laid bare everything that had accumulated for years “beneath the facade of transition and reforms.”
Writing about students, he said they had shown that the fight for justice, freedom and democracy is a fundamental and “often forgotten value that we take for granted.”
He also stressed the importance of holding elections at all levels on the same day and of implementing reforms of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media and the voter register.
Although Prebilič’s article contains a range of assessments and views, tabloids and politicians singled out one paragraph as the basis for their claims.
“Therefore, the European Parliament Mission is here not only to establish facts , which, incidentally, a good part of we all already know, but also to tell people in Serbia that they are not alone in their struggle, to embrace them and to show that we care about finding a way out of the crisis,” the paragraph reads, which Pink and Informer portrayed as an admission of support for violence.
EP delegation met with street-level rhetoric
Among the members of the delegation, the main target of attacks by ruling politicians and pro-government media in recent days has once again been European Parliament rapporteur Tonino Picula. Tabloids have demonised him in almost every article, openly labelling him an Ustasha or a Serb-hater.
For two days, claims have circulated in the media and in Serbia’s parliament that the European Parliament delegation had asked not to pass through the central hall of the National Assembly and to avoid an exhibition dedicated to the Jasenovac concentration camp.
Responding to an assertion by an Informer employee that the MEPs had made such a request, Picula said it was not true.
“Of course this exhibition is here for a purpose and with good reason. We in the European Parliament, that is, in the European Union, are part of an organisation founded on anti-fascism, because without victory over Nazism there would be no European Union,” Picula said. “We have absolutely no problem, of course, with viewing exhibitions like this, and with those who are unfamiliar with these events expanding their knowledge of what happened during the Second World War. So all these stories that someone asked for alternative routes are completely unfounded.”
The Informer journalist did not abandon the outlet’s narrative, going on to ask the European Parliament rapporteur how he commented on a concert by Croatian singer Marko Perković Thompson and his song “Za dom spremni”.
Picula also responded to that question.
“I condemn every form of historical revisionism, and how could I not condemn those who in any way try to justify what was probably the greatest global tragedy of the first half of the last century, regardless of where it happened — in Croatia, Serbia or anywhere else in the world. I believe I have been more than clear on this, including at the time when some of these events were actually taking place,” Picula said.
Translated in English using AI tools, then thoughtfully refined by a human editor.
