Serbia’s parliament has met for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak in the Balkan country, following criticism from home and abroad that a nationwide state of emergency has been adopted without an approval from the legislature. Most of the opposition parties have boycotted the session today which is to retroactively approve the harsh lockdown and other measures since the emergency decree was introduced in mid-March. Serbia’s autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic has faced accusations from the European Union and Serbia’s opposition groups of curbing democracy and media freedoms with the state of emergency. Despite formally seeking EU membership, Serbia has steadily been drifting toward Russia and China. Serbia has reported more than 8,000 coronavirus infections and 85 deaths.-AP

Source: The Standard April 28, 2020 05:26 UTC