MEPs demand immediate EU action over Serbian spyware allegations

A group of members of the European Parliament is demanding immediate EU action after Serbian student activists and opposition politicians were reportedly targeted with surveillance spyware.

Slovenian MEP Vladimir Prebilic said he and colleagues from five political groups had written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos. Their demands include freezing EU funding for Serbia, cancelling von der Leyen’s planned visit to Belgrade, opening an independent international investigation and taking measures against those responsible.

At least 14 students and opposition politicians have said Apple warned them that their phones were being targeted. The MEPs cited forensic evidence published by the SHARE Foundation and independently verified by Amnesty International and Citizen Lab.

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Along with colleagues from the European Parliament, from five political groups, we are urgently requesting immediate, concrete EU action from the European Commission regarding Serbia’s deployment of spyware against student leaders, activists and opposition leaders!

The letter alleges that the Serbian state deployed commercial spyware against student leaders, activists, an MP and local opposition politicians. It says Pegasus was used remotely, while Android spyware known as NoviSpy was forcibly installed on phones confiscated during police interrogations.

“Along with colleagues from the European Parliament, from five political groups, we are urgently requesting immediate, concrete EU action from the European Commission regarding Serbia’s deployment of spyware against student leaders, activists and opposition leaders!” Prebilic wrote on X.

The letter described the alleged surveillance as a direct attack on democracy rather than a technical problem. It also accused Aleksandar Vučić’s government of using illegal digital surveillance to weaken political opposition ahead of upcoming elections. The MEPs said the European Union could not continue normal relations while a candidate country used its security apparatus against peaceful students and elected representatives.

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This is not a technical glitch; it is a direct state attack on democracy.