Serbia

Just another refugees' day, dreaming of the EU: impressions by Reinhard Bütikofer.

The European Greens have offered their sympathies to those affected by the recent flooding in the Balkans, calling for the European Union to do all it can to support Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia after the region saw its worst flooding in decades.

The European Green Party (EGP) expresses its strongest possible support for the organisers and participants in Belgrade Pride 2013, which had been due to take place on Saturday September 28. We stand in solidarity with Serbia's LGBT community.

The European Green Party (EGP) have reacted with disappointment to reports that a 600-year old oak tree in the village of Savinac faces being chopped down, so that authorities can build a highway.  Noting the important work that Zeleni Srbije, the Serbian Green party, have done to draw attention to the issue, Secretary General of the EGP Jacqueline Cremers says: "The fact that plans for this highway were drawn up without taking vital local environmental concerns into account is unacceptable."

The Greens of Serbia have urged their government to not swap one harmful agricultural product for another on the back of a health scare that has affected local dairy production. The local dairy market has been hit badly by the discovery of aflatoxins, a fungus that can cause cancer, in grain that has been used to feed dairy cattle. There has been a call for Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) food produce to be allowed to be imported into the country to replace the aflatoxin-contaminated food produced within the country.

"The latest scientific evidence requires us to re-examine the way in which we estimate the safety of GMOs before they reach the market," said Ivan Karić of the Serbian Greens.

The Serbian authorities have shown their lack of understanding of the importance of this event for people all around Europe. It could have been a sign of hope for the LGTBQ community in Serbia, and throughout the Balkan region. The Serbian authorities failed to provide even this hope.