A group of European Parliament representatives are seeking to delay Serbia’s entry into the European Union and send other messages to Belgrade over the government’s usage of spyware.
The 29 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) cited a report this week from the SHARE Foundation about spyware found on the phones of Serbian student activists and that targeted others as well. The foundation, along with Amnesty International and The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, discovered both Pegasus and NoviSpy spyware infections.
The groups didn’t assign responsibility for the Pegasus infection, but said evidence from the NoviSpy infections pointed to Serbian government authorities.
“This is not a technical glitch; it is a direct state attack on democracy,” the 29 MEPs wrote Friday. “With upcoming elections ahead, Aleksandar Vučić’s regime is using illegal digital surveillance to systematically dismantle political opposition.”
The MEPs’ demands include slowing Serbian accession into the EU until completing an investigation into Serbia’s spyware usage and making Serbia’s accession contingent on improving rule-of-law accountability.
They also said President Ursula von der Leyen should cancel a planned visit to Serbia. European leaders were already outraged by the response from Serbia to the death of former Bosnian Serb army commander and war criminal Ratko Mladic, with Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos canceling her own visit Friday over the alleged “glorification” of Mladic.
The spyware letter adds to the pressure, said Hannah Neumann, an MEP who signed it.
“It could very well be that some of these demands will be honored, but for sure the spyware won’t be the only reason why,” she told CyberScoop. Serbia’s history of spyware use contributed to Friday’s letter, she said: “We have been critical towards the government for already quite some time and demanded consequences so this was another straw.”
The Serbian government did not respond to multiple requests late Friday for comment.
“Appeasement has failed,” the members wrote. “It is time for the Commission to demonstrate that compliance with fundamental democratic standards is a non-negotiable requirement, not an option.”
European Union member nations have faced their own allegations over using spyware, and recent revelations of spyware found on the device of a member of the European Parliament’s PEGA Committee has prompted some to renew calls for enactment of recommendations from that committee to address spyware abuses.