The EPP launches an internal scrutiny process over the membership of Vučić’s party

The European People’s Party (EPP) launched on Thursday an internal scrutiny process as regards the role of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), led for a decade by Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić.

The EPP Presidency tasked its Secretary General, Dolors Montserrat, and its Vice-President Kostis Hatzidakis to lead the process, which is described as “a thorough and swift internal investigation with open-ended results”.

SNS has been an EPP associated member party since 2016. Vučić has been the party’s president from 2012 to 2023, when he yielded command to Miloš Vučević.

As anticipated by Euronews and confirmed by internal sources, criticism of the Serbian ruling party has been growing inside the EPP. Developments on the ground and SNS geopolitical positioning are the reason for the scrutiny process. 

Vučić has rejected calls for early elections after mass demonstrations against corruption and negligence, for a concrete canopy that collapsed at the freshly renovated Novi Sad train station last November, killing 16 people.

Protestors have been complaining about police brutality, excessive force, and sexual harassment against opposition activists, but SNS has accused them of seeking to incite unrest.

"The EPP has not turned a blind eye to what is happening in Serbia”, EPP President Manfred Weber told reporters in Strasbourg at the beginning of the month.

Vučić’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin is also a matter of concern.

The Serbian President decided to maintain close ties with Russia even after the invasion of Ukraine, highlighting historic links between the two countries and energy security. On 9 May 2025, Vučić even joined Putin in Moscow for Russia's Victory Day parade, raising eyebrows in Brussels and in the same EPP.

In the EPP, there are different positions on the SNS membership, and the scrutiny process has neither a specific timeline nor a predefined outcome, internal sources told Euronews.

According to EPP rules,  a possible suspension or exclusion of the Serbian party should be proposed by the Presidency or by seven other parties coming from at least five different countries, and ultimately decided by the Political Assembly.

SNS has been approached for comments.