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"Unacceptable rhetoric", EU condemns Serbian minister's statement on "ethnic cleansing" of Kosovo
2026-07-14 14:57:00 / KOSOVA
The European Union condemned the statement of the Serbian Minister for Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Snezhana Paunovic, who said that, if she had been in the place of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, in 1998, she would have "ethnically cleansed Kosovo".
European Commission spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said the EU does not comment on individual statements, but stressed that there is no place in Europe for rhetoric that justifies or promotes ethnic cleansing.
"Such statements contradict the values of human dignity, reconciliation, accountability and good neighborly relations, on which the European Union is built," Hipper said, addressing reporters in Brussels.
According to her, they also contradict the commitments that Serbia has made within the framework of the dialogue for the normalization of relations with Kosovo, mediated by the EU.
"We expect all leaders to act responsibly, refrain from inflammatory rhetoric, and contribute to creating a climate of trust and regional stability," Hipper added.
Paunovic declared on Saturday to Serbian television Kurir that, if he had been in Milosevic's place in 1998, he "would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo" - a statement that prompted reactions and condemnations even in Kosovo, REL reports.
Milosevic was the former president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and indicted by the Hague Tribunal for war crimes.
"This is the harshest statement I have ever made in my life," Paunovic said.
She said that "she would not have liquidated the Albanians in the way they are trying to ethnically cleanse Kosovo, but in such a way that anyone who feels less of a citizen of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia would leave and go to their mother country."
In a response published on July 14, Paunović said that he is not giving up the politics of the Socialist Party of Serbia – of which he has been a part since 1992.
"We are the party that led Serbia in extremely difficult historical circumstances, the party that made great sacrifices - whose name was mentioned the most in The Hague ," she wrote on social media.
Paunović has been the vice-chair of the Socialist Party of Serbia since 2024.
The leader of this party, Ivica Dacic, who is also Serbia's Interior Minister, described the criticism of the minister as "shameful and hypocritical."
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