Serbia mocks EU’s silence on Croatia’s alleged fascist manifestations

On 3 August Serbian National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabić sharply criticized the European Union’s commitment to the “rule of law,” accusing Brussels of ignoring what she described as fascist manifestations in Croatia.

Speaking on Pink TV, Brnabić pointed to two events as evidence: the 30th anniversary celebration of Croatia’s Operation Storm in 1995, which led to the exodus of approximately 250,000 Serbs, and the chanting of fascist slogans like “Let’s go, let’s go, Ustaše!” and “Za dom spremni” (“Ready for the Homeland”) at a Hajduk-Istra soccer match in Split. Brnabić claimed these incidents reflect a broader failure of the EU to address Croatia’s alleged tolerance of fascist symbols and rhetoric, undermining its stated values.

She stated that she sent a video of the soccer match to Serbia’s EU Ambassador, Danijel Apostolović, urging him to show EU partners “what happens when they keep mum and refuse to take a stand.”

Brnabić’s remarks, laced with provocative rhetoric, included a hyperbolic warning: “All that’s left is for Croatia to reopen the Jasenovac Ustaša concentration camp and to kill what few Serbs are left [in Croatia] or to threaten to kill them if they don’t flee. I believe that’s the only step left in keeping with the European rule of law.”

Brnabić was the prime minister of Serbia from 2017 to 2024 and was regularly in touch with the EU authorities. Serbia’s EU accession talks are largely stalled, while Croatia joined the EU in 2013.

She also referenced a July 2025 concert in Zagreb by controversial Croatian singer Marko Perković “Thompson,” which reportedly drew nearly 500,000 attendees who chanted “Za dom spremni,” the official salute of the Ustaše, the fascist movement that ruled the Nazi-aligned Independent State of Croatia (NDH) from 1941 to 1945.

Brnabić accused the EU of remaining silent despite Serbia repeatedly raising concerns about such events, framing this as a betrayal of European democratic principles.

Historical context: Operation Storm and the Ustaše legacy

The events cited by Brnabić are deeply rooted in the fraught history of Serbo-Croatian relations, particularly the Yugoslav Wars (1991–1999) and World War II, which continue to shape regional tensions and political discourse.

Operation Storm, conducted by Croatian forces in August 1995, was a decisive military offensive during the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995), part of the broader Yugoslav Wars. The operation aimed to retake the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, a Serb-controlled region within Croatia. Croatian police and military, supported by international recognition of Croatia’s sovereignty, swiftly reclaimed the territory, leading to the displacement of approximately 200,000–250,000 ethnic Serbs, one of the largest single exoduses of the war.

While Croatia views Operation Storm as a legitimate and triumphant act of liberation, celebrated annually as Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, Serbia and many Serbs regard it as an ethnic cleansing campaign marked by human rights abuses, including looting, arson, and killings of civilians who remained.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) investigated the operation, indicting Croatian commanders like Ante Gotovina, who was later acquitted, but the event remains a flashpoint in Serbo-Croatian relations.

The phrase “Za dom spremni” is inextricably linked to the Ustaše, a fascist movement that governed the NDH, a puppet state established by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy during World War II. Under Ante Pavelić’s leadership, the Ustaše implemented genocidal policies targeting Serbs, Jews, Roma, and anti-fascist Croats, most notoriously at the Jasenovac concentration camp, where estimates of victims range from 83,000 to over 100,000.

The salute “Za dom spremni” was a mandatory expression of loyalty to the NDH, often accompanied by a raised hand, and became synonymous with the regime’s ultranationalist ideology and atrocities.

After World War II, the phrase was banned in socialist Yugoslavia due to its fascist connotations. However, it resurfaced during the Croatian War of Independence, adopted by the Croatian Defence Forces (HOS), a paramilitary group tied to the right-wing Croatian Party of Rights. For some Croats, particularly veterans, the salute became a symbol of resistance against Serbian aggression, partially detached from its WWII origins.

In modern Croatia, its use remains highly controversial, with nationalist groups and some public figures defending it as a patriotic expression, while historians, minority communities, and international observers condemn it as a glorification of fascism.

The EU, while critical of hate symbols, has not imposed a uniform ban on “Za dom spremni,” leaving enforcement to national laws, which in Croatia remain ambiguous, fuelling Serbia’s accusations of leniency.

Brnabić’s reference to the Jasenovac camp taps into a deeply sensitive historical wound. For Serbs, Jasenovac symbolizes the horrors of Ustaše persecution, and its memory is central to Serbia’s national narrative of victimhood during WWII.

Brnabić’s remarks reflect Serbia’s broader frustration with the EU, which it perceives as ignoring Croatia’s alleged nationalist excesses while scrutinizing Serbia’s democratic record. Serbia has long positioned itself as a victim of regional bias, pointing to events like Operation Storm and the lack of accountability for Croatian war crimes as evidence of Western favoritism.

Croatia, for its part, defends its commemorations of Operation Storm as celebrations of national sovereignty and dismisses accusations of fascism as Serbian propaganda aimed at destabilizing its EU standing. The chanting of “Za dom spremni” at public events, such as football matches, is often downplayed by Croatian authorities as isolated acts by fringe groups, though critics argue this reflects a broader societal reluctance to confront the Ustaše legacy.

The EU’s muted response reflects its delicate balancing act in the Western Balkans, where historical grievances and nationalist rhetoric complicate integration efforts.

More Serbia coverage here.

More Croatia coverage here.

Edited by g.g.

Caption: Members of an infantry division of the Croatian Armed Forces take part in an exercise as part of rehearsals for a military parade, at the Colonel Marko Zivkovic military base near Zagreb, Croatia, 22 July 2025. Croatia will mark the 30th anniversary of Operation Storm, the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence in August 1995, with a military parade featuring more than 3000 soldiers and several hundred military vehicles on 31 July. EPA/ANTONIO BAT