Congressman Wilson asked the EPP to cut ties with SNS because it is a tool for corruption

American Congressman, Republican Joe Wilson, has asked the European People’s Party (EPP) to sever all ties with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), stating that the party “has become a tool for corruption.”

Wilson wrote today on the platform X that on September 24 he sent a letter to EPP President Manfred Weber, in which he requested that the EPP officially revoke SNS’s associate member status and cut all other ties with the party.

The congressman made a series of serious accusations against SNS and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić.

Wilson stated that “Vučić and his corrupt authoritarian party are opposed to Western civilization and should not have any connection with the EPP,” adding that Europe must confront “Vučić’s electoral manipulations” and demand free and fair elections in Serbia.

“I am writing to you with a request that the European People’s Party (EPP) officially revoke the associate member status and sever all other ties with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of Aleksandar Vučić. Over a long period, SNS has shown that it is not committed to democratic competition and is not interested in being part of Western civilization,” the letter, which Wilson shared on X, states.

The member of the U.S. House of Representatives added that it is of crucial importance that such a decision be made before the parliamentary elections in Serbia on October 25, 2026, so that SNS cannot “use the EPP name for its own legitimization.”

American Congressman stated that SNS, as the ruling party of Serbia under Vučić, has continuously abused state resources and security services in order, he claims, to rig elections.

“The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) assessed that the 2023 parliamentary elections were held under unfair conditions. OSCE observers stated that the ruling party blurred the line between government activities and the election campaign and that public resources were used for political purposes. None of its recommendations have been implemented and all indicators suggest that Vučić and his partner Russia are already working to manipulate the 2026 elections,” Wilson’s letter states.

American Congressman added that 96 percent of the public broadcasting space belongs to Vučić as opposed to only four percent for the opposition, also citing the “illegal use of secret surveillance software against students and the opposition.”

“SNS is very reminiscent of Vladimir Putin’s warmongering party United Russia and is run in a very similar kleptocratic manner. The party has become a tool for corruption and patronage, which also maintains Vučić’s tight control,” the letter states.

Wilson added that this was most clearly demonstrated by the collapse of the canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad, in which 16 people were killed, “victims of Vučić’s corruption.”

The current student movement in Serbia is striving to restore the rule of law, which SNS has destroyed, the letter states.

Wilson added that when SNS is not plundering the country, it “glorifies war criminals, as it did with Ratko Mladić,” the Hague indictee who died in The Hague and was buried in Belgrade.

“Vučić presents himself as a necessary bulwark against a potentially radical government. But we must not be deceived. Vučić and SNS are radicals. They steal everything that is not nailed down and sell it to the enemies of the West. The Serbian people want prosperity, peace, and the rule of law. If given the opportunity in free and fair elections, that would be their choice,” Wilson added.

American Congressman added that SNS does not share common Western values.