Von der Leyen’s Serbia remarks, Canada proposal, social media rules draw Croatian MEP reactions

Croatian Members of the European Parliament highlighted several points from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech on Wednesday, including her condemnation of the tribute to Ratko Mladić, her call for Canada to become an associate member of the EU, and proposed restrictions on social media access for children under 13.

Von der Leyen delivered her annual State of the Union address on Wednesday, addressing a range of issues including competitiveness, security and Europe’s independence. During the nearly 90-minute speech, she said she was “shocked” by images from the tribute to Ratko Mladić in Belgrade. She said that celebrating a war criminal “has no place in Europe.”

EPP MEP Željana Zovko told reporters that with those remarks, the Commission president had “said what is in everyone’s heart” – that EU values are not negotiable. Conservative MEP Stephen Nikola Bartulica welcomed the condemnation but reiterated that Croatia should make war reparations a condition for Serbia’s eventual accession to the EU, noting that Serbia remains far from membership, CE Report quotes HINA.

Greens MEP Gordan Bosanac said that “we have finally seen tough rhetoric on Serbia.” He welcomed von der Leyen’s “clear and unequivocal condemnation” of the glorification of war criminals, but added that it was now up to her not to visit Serbia before elections scheduled for late October.

Socialists and Democrats MEP Tonino Picula, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Serbia, said he was “extremely disappointed” with that part of her speech because she left it until the very end and avoided saying that Mladić was responsible for genocide. Picula said the Commission president had also missed an opportunity by not inviting the Mothers of Srebrenica to Strasbourg, as she had done with several other guests during the plenary session.

“As far as Mladić is concerned, I cannot imagine how Canada can be an associate member of the EU in the same process in which Vučić’s SNS can be an associate member of the EPP,” the Croatian MEP continued.

During her speech, von der Leyen invited Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was present in the chamber, for his country to join the EU as an associate member.

Picula said this was “not the first time” von der Leyen had introduced the EU into a “rather unexplored political and legal space” with her proposals, since the status of associate membership does not currently exist.

However, the MEP said the idea should not be underestimated, as it forms part of an effort to bring together “middle powers” that Carney announced earlier this year, describing such cooperation as necessary in a world where the number of autocracies has surpassed the number of democracies.

Bartulica stressed that “no one knows what associate membership means.” He welcomed Carney’s visit, as the Canadian prime minister was due to address Parliament the following day, but said cooperation between Brussels and Ottawa should not be based on a “globalist elite.” He described the situation in Canada as very poor and said that this was why many Croatians were returning home.

Bosanac welcomed the idea, saying it could give the EU “new momentum” as a leader among democratic countries worldwide.

Zovko also welcomed Carney’s arrival but stressed that neither the EU nor Canada could do without the United States, their largest strategic and security partner.

Children Online

Among other measures, von der Leyen announced in her speech a proposed act that would prevent children under 13 from accessing social media, while those under 15 would not be allowed to have personal accounts and would instead be able to use only “mini accounts” under parental supervision. For users aged 15 to 18, major platforms would be required to work on safety-by-design measures, von der Leyen said.

EPP MEP Nikolina Brnjac “warmly welcomed” the proposed legislation regulating children’s presence on social media.

She said it was necessary because one in seven children in Europe has a mental health problem, while the figure has increased by 35% over the past 15 years.

Bosanac also praised the announcement of a “clampdown on big tech companies,” saying his EPP colleagues were “otherwise much more fearful” of taking such action. He stressed that protecting minors was welcome, but said the issue should not stop there, as adults are also exposed to algorithms and democracies therefore need to take further steps.

MEP Sunčana Glavak, who frequently works on the issue of protecting young people online, welcomed the focus on ensuring that social media platforms and corporations cannot be the ones setting the rules on the internet.

She said society has a responsibility to introduce media literacy so that children can be “resilient to the content they encounter,” but platforms must also be subject to oversight and held responsible for the content they deliver.

“I am not in favour of banning children from using platforms, but of banning platforms from using children,” Glavak said, adding that she is also working with Croatian authorities on criminalizing cyberbullying.

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