The past week has seen massive protests across Europe. Serbians, Hungarians and Georgians have taken to the streets in droves, highlighting a regional trend of citizens demanding democratic reforms and dignified lives. They oppose systemic corruption, the identification of the state with power and the calcification of political life.
Since November 2024, Serbia has been gripped by widespread anti-corruption protests, initially sparked by the tragic roof collapse of a railway station in Novi Sad, which left 15 people dead. The event, blamed on government negligence and corruption, has sparked public outrage. The movement, led largely by university students, has paralyzed not only university life, garnering widespread popular support. The persistence and scale of these protests, the largest since Aleksandar Vu?i? came to power in 2012, have sparked a sense of solidarity among young people from Ljubljana to Podgorica, from Zagreb to Athens.
Students in Serbia are demanding that it become a democratic country where law rules, not the cult of an individual. Disappointed by the policies and positions of EU officials, who have supported President Vu?i?’s rule for more than 12 years, it is striking that students do not wave EU flags at protests.
Although the European Parliament adopted a resolution critical of the lack of standards in the last parliamentary elections held in Serbia in December 2023 in February last year, practically no action was taken. The EU continued to treat Aleksandar Vu?i?’s rule as if nothing had happened.
Likewise, it can be said that the process of negotiations for Serbia’s membership in the EU has turned into a farce, where neither side is serious. Although officially launched in 2014, in terms of democratic standards and the values ??it embodies, Serbia is further away than it was before the start of the accession talks. In other words, the policy of appeasement towards Serbia has failed, since in the space of a decade, it has not become more democratic, does not accept the consequences and reality of the post-war period in the former Yugoslavia. And as a result, it is no longer peaceful and more trustworthy towards its neighbors.
In Georgia, the protests have their roots in the lack of free elections, the dominance of political and economic life by a single party in power since 2012. The struggle for European identity and complicated relations with Russia are important elements of the Georgian crisis. The spark that ignited the wave of protests was the disputed parliamentary elections of October 2024. As in the case of the Serbian parliamentary elections, last month the European Parliament adopted a resolution critical of the lack of electoral standards in Georgia, while calling for the imposition of sanctions on high-ranking officials involved in undermining democratic processes.
In response to the resolution, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension of Georgia’s EU accession talks until the end of 2028, as well as the rejection of EU aid and financial instruments (grants and loans) that, according to him, are being used as leverage. At the same time, he stressed that his government will continue to implement the reforms required for membership and that it still plans for Georgia to join the EU by 2030.
Although a candidate country for EU membership, since December 2023, democratic standards have marked a setback. Legislation aimed at curbing foreign influence, mainly among NGOs and critics of the government, is considered a continuation of the trajectory of cementing power.
Unlike the Serbs, Georgians wave EU flags at protests, believing, like us Balkans once did, that by getting closer to the EU, they will be able to better defend certain democratic standards and values ??that the EU embodies.
On the other hand, the protests in Hungary are an indicator of the insufficient functioning of the democratic elements of the system even when you are a member of the EU, or under supervision by European structures in relation to the rule of law. Since 2010 in Hungary we have been dealing with the dominance of a party that controls almost all the levers of power, the economy and the media.
But recently, Viktor Orbán’s absolute power has been shaken by growing opposition. Hungarians are protesting against corruption and the curtailment of freedoms and rights. A new opposition movement led by Péter Magyar, once a close confidant of Orbán and now a leading whistleblower in corruption scandals, has managed to mobilize massive popular protests. In response, Orbán has proposed constitutional changes aimed at curbing foreign influence, particularly targeting NGOs and media outlets that receive international funding. He views these entities as threats to national sovereignty, a move that critics perceive as a continuation of efforts to stifle dissent and further consolidate power.
Although countries with different characteristics, geography and political history, what they have in common is the fact that power was gained legitimately, not by violence. But, over time and especially due to the longevity of power, the constraints that keep a democratic system afloat have been violated. More or less, an old trick has been used in all three countries: first the law is preached to gain power, then power is used to distort or ignore the law.
Also, the above cases show us that regardless of whether you are a candidate or a member of the EU, the process of democratic transformation is brought to life thanks to the contribution, exercise of responsibilities, and vigilance of citizens, to prevent the production of an uncontrollable power.
Longevity in power and the gradual dismantling of checks and balances of power are sold as something normal that has to do with the effectiveness of government and the good of the people. The only thing that limits power is its goodwill, which has nothing to do with the definition of democracy. Because, as political scientist Adam Pševorski rightly says: “Democracy is a system where some things must be left open for a chance for democracy to live up to its name.”
Protests in Europe, even if they do not in themselves correct the democratic deficit of political life, are an opportunity to shake up stabilocracy and open a path that leads to finding new political and social balances.
The situations described above, despite the differences related to the uniqueness of each country, are essentially reminiscent of Goethe’s famous fable “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, which tells how a sorcerer entrusts the management of his workshop to a young apprentice, giving him several tasks.
The apprentice decided to make his job easier by using one of the wizard’s spells, but it resulted in the workshop flooding. The apprentice was forced to pray to the wizard for help, and only thanks to his help did the flood stop. The lesson from the fable written centuries ago is clear: power must be exercised in a controlled manner, otherwise it brings disaster.
Therefore, the winds blowing in Europe tell us that people are no longer willing to tolerate the violation of democratic norms in exchange for some material goods they value. They are shaking the foundations of long-standing power, fighting for democracy and rejecting any compromise that does not serve the future.
The analysis is a publication of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation.
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Tirana
