A European Spring?

This Article is published in the context of JEF Europe’s Democracy Under Pressure (DUP) Action Week

To understand these movements beyond wishful thinking, we gathered insights from people on the ground. What emerges is that despite their different focal points, support for European values serves as a common denominator for most of these movements. What unites them is their opposition to corruption, democratic backsliding, and the concentration of power in the hands of elites. However, their relationship with the EU and Russia, and their visions for the future vary significantly across contexts.

Serbia: “Corruption Kills”

What began as outrage over the collapse of a train station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 15 people has evolved into the largest protest movement in Serbia’s history, drawing at least 325,000 people to the center of Belgrade on 15 March, according to independent observers.

Filip Milenkovic, a political scientist observing the protests, explains: “It was the biggest gathering in the history of the country. And people feel empowered - a very wide coalition is forming. It’s also very decentralized and geographically spread because students were walking in protest almost all across the country.”

“Our state system simply doesn’t work and we are tired of corruption and all those affairs that define this criminal regime,” explains Aleksa Banduka, a student at Belgrade’s faculty of Political Science, why he has been participating in the protest movement from the beginning on.

Unlike other movements in the region, these protests are not explicitly pro-EU. As Milenkovic notes: “The current protests are not driven by any political agenda or program, but rather precise demands that have managed to unite the whole country and people with different views and ideologies. They’re ’meta political’, and ’beyond politics’ - still.”

Hungary: “The Tisza is Rising”

In Hungary, the 15 March national holiday saw competing rallies - one led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán with about 8,000-10,000 people “brought in by buses from rural areas with mandatory participation,” and another, significantly larger one, organized by Péter Magyar and his TISZA party (the acronym is also the name of the country’s second largest river) that gathered at least 70,000-80,000 people “who came on their own motivation and expense,” according to Bálint Magyar, social scientist and former Minister of Education.

Márton Hajdú, Chief of Staff for TISZA’s European Parliament group, describes the rally: “Participants were mainly the party’s supporters, representing a broad popular base. This has been made possible partly through what we call ’Tisza islands’ - local sympathizer gatherings that started about six months ago.”

Bálint Magyar offers insight on TISZA’s strategic positioning: “They’re carefully avoiding being labeled as ’Brussels’ puppets’ or ’pro-war’ as happened with Péter Márki-Zay, the opposition candidate easily beaten by Orbán in the last elections.”

The protests and the success of TISZA represent an existential threat to Orbán’s mafia-like regime. Many of the prime minister’s cronies could face jail for corruption after a government change, so Magyar warns of increasingly desperate measures ahead of the 2026 elections: “We’re also seeing constitutional amendments to allow military deployment domestically - potentially against protests following a stolen election. They’re labeling supporters as ’foreign agents’ to set the field for a possible exclusion of TISZA from elections with a Constitutional Court ruling following the Romanian example.”

Slovakia: “We Don’t Want to Be a Russian Colony”

Slovakia’s protests erupted in response to Prime Minister Robert Fico’s secret meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in December 2024. According to organizers, approximately 60,000 people participated in Bratislava on 24 January, with around 100,000 nationwide.

These demonstrations have an explicitly pro-European and anti-Russian orientation. Key slogans include “Slovakia is Europe!” and “We don’t want to be a Russian colony!” Michal Lipták, a lawyer who attended the protests, explains: “For me, ’Slovakia is Europe’ means standing against centrifugal forces in the EU - such as Orbán, or far-right parties in Western Europe. I see Fico as one of such forces.”

Romania: “Europe is Your Home”

Romania’s EuroManifest rally brought together around 40 civil society groups in a demonstration of support for European integration and against rising far-right euroscepticism, gathering approximately 10,000-14,000 participants.

Claudiu Craciun, a lecturer in Political Science in Bucharest, describes it as “clearly a pro-EU rally, people also clapped in support for Ukraine for several minutes and there were boos against Putin/Russia. There were also many EU flags, on a par with the Romanian ones.”

Unlike other movements in the region, Romania’s protesters were not primarily opposing the current government but rather affirming the country’s European identity. Craciun believes the rally has broader implications: “Even though there were no politicians and candidates at the rally, its organisation reinforces the pro-democratic centre, not only at a political level, but also at institutional level.”

Georgia: “No Justice, No Peace”

Georgia’s protests were sparked by the 28 November statement from Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the Georgian Dream (GD) party about removing EU negotiations from the agenda until 2028, effectively halting the EU integration process.

Nino Samkharadze, a policy analyst, describes the situation: “Repressions are unprecedentedly harsh in legal terms and the corrupted court is the leading weapon for fighting against protesters.” Despite this, the protests have continued for more than 100 days, with numbers varying from 1,500-2,000 people to as many as 120,000 on peak days.

Regarding the EU, Samkharadze notes: “Integration is de facto halted. GD constantly attacks the EU politicians, such as the ambassador, the HR, and MPs who are criticizing the GD’s democratic backsliding.”

Italy: “Europe is Us”

In Rome, a demonstration organized by journalist Michele Serra gathered 50,000 people in Piazza del Popolo on 15 March. The rally transformed the square into “the beating heart of Europeanist sentiment in Italy,” according to observer Cesare Ceccato.

The gathering featured intellectuals, actors, writers, singers, and scientists who took turns reminding the crowd of the roots and mission of the European Union. A key slogan at the event was “L’Europa siamo noi” (“Europe is us”), emphasizing that Europe is first and foremost its citizens rather than just the Commission or European Council.

The crowd enthusiastically responded to the Young European Federalists’ call for a “Federazione Europea Subito!” (“European Federation right now!”), showing strong support for deeper European integration.

A European Spring with National Characteristics

These movements share important characteristics despite their different national contexts. All emerged in response to specific events: a train station collapse in Serbia, a pedophilia scandal in Hungary, a secret meeting with Putin in Slovakia, the rise of far-right euroscepticism in Romania, and the halting of EU negotiations in Georgia. Despite these different triggers, they all reflect deeper grievances about governance, with corruption and abuse of power emerging as common themes.

Their relationships with the EU and Russia vary significantly. In Slovakia, Romania, Italy, and to some extent Hungary, the protests have a strong pro-EU dimension, with explicit support for European integration and opposition to Russian influence. In Georgia, opposition to the authoritarian government is at the center, yet broad protests erupted only when the country’s EU orientation was put in question by the re-elected government. Serbia stands as a notable exception, where the movement is not explicitly framed in terms of EU integration or opposition to Russian influence. Sadly, EU actors have too often prioritised government stability and their interest in lithium mining over support for democracy, losing much credibility within the country thereby.

The movements also differ in their organization and potential impact. In Hungary, the protests represent a serious challenge to Orbán’s long-established regime, with Magyar’s TISZA party positioning itself as a credible alternative in the 2026 elections. In Serbia, the massive scale of the protests puts significant pressure on Vučić’s government, however, without a clear path towards replacing it. Slovakia’s protests are unlikely to immediately bring down Fico’s government but continue to pressure it. Georgia’s situation is perhaps the most challenging, with the government employing increasingly repressive tactics.

What emerges is not a single, coordinated pan-European movement but rather a series of national movements responding to local conditions, yet often inspired by similar democratic values. Most would strengthen liberal democracy and European integration if successful, but their primary frameworks are national rather than European.

Nevertheless, these movements represent a powerful beacon of hope for democracy and European values. The sheer number of citizens willing to brave cold weather, threats of repression, and government intimidation demonstrates a remarkable resolve to defend hard-won freedoms and democratic institutions. While perhaps not a “European Spring” in the revolutionary sense, this widespread democratic awakening signals that authoritarian tendencies will not go unchallenged.

The European Union, in its own interest, should provide much clearer support to these movements rather than maintaining diplomatic distance or prioritizing short-term stability. By standing firmly with citizens who embody its core values on the streets, the EU would not only strengthen its moral authority but also invest in the democratic future of the entire continent. These courageous demonstrators are not just fighting for their own countries—they represent the living heart of the European project itself.