In a resolution passed on Thursday, the European Parliament demanded an “independent investigation” into irregularities seen in Serbia’s Dec. 17 municipal and legislative elections and called for the suspension of EU funding for Belgrade, AFP reported. Agerpres.

In this non-binding text, adopted by a large majority (461 votes in favor, 53 against, 43 abstentions), MEPs say that these elections “cannot be considered to have taken place under fair conditions”.

During the election campaign, the media “controlled by Russia”, Sputnik Serbia and Russia Today Balkan, “actively contributed to the spread of disinformation” against the opposition candidates, the MEPs write.

They remind that Prime Minister Ana Brnabich “publicly thanked the Russian special services for providing information about the planned activities of the opposition.”

As for the voting operations themselves, MEPs are concerned about information that “reports large-scale and systematic falsifications” and talk about “ghost voters” coming to Belgrade from other cities where elections were not held or from neighboring countries.

Deputies note that the International Election Observation Mission noted “individual cases of crowding of people at polling stations, violations of the secrecy of voting and numerous cases of collective voting.”

These elections “did not meet the standards expected of a candidate country for joining the Union,” they conclude.

They demand a “quick investigative mission” in Serbia and ask the Serbian authorities to “bring to justice” those responsible for the crimes.

The parliament also calls for “suspension of EU funding” provided to the country if the Serbian authorities “are unwilling to implement the main recommendations regarding the elections”.

The party of President Aleksandar Vučić (SNS, nationalist right) won 46.75% of the votes in these elections. The opposition requested the annulment of the results in the Constitutional Court, but so far without success.

From the second day after the election, several thousand demonstrators marched through the streets of Belgrade every day until December 30, before the mobilization showed signs of breaking down.

All MEPs from the French party “National Union” present at the voting in the European Parliament voted against the adoption of the text.