Slovenian MEP urges von der Leyen to cancel Serbia visit

Slovenian MEP Vladimir Prebilič has called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to cancel her planned visit to Serbia after reports of spyware targeting student activists and opposition politicians.

In a post on X, Prebilič said the alleged surveillance campaign represented a rapid escalation from the use of a sound cannon in March 2025. He argued that there was “zero excuse” for Marta Kos and von der Leyen to visit Belgrade and create what he described as a false sense of normalcy.

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It was a short step from the sound cannon in March 2025 to a fully operational spyware campaign against key opposition and student activists in Serbia.

Student activists said at a news conference that 14 members of the movement’s operational teams had been targeted with advanced spyware. Radomir Lazović, an opposition Green-Left Front member of parliament, told Nova that he had been under surveillance during meetings with EU officials and during recent local elections.

The activists and Lazović said they learned about the alleged spyware surveillance through warnings from Apple.

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There is zero excuse for Marta Kos and Ursula von der Leyen to visit Belgrade in the coming month and create a false sense of normalcy.