Member of parliament Hrvoje Zekanovic of the opposition HRAST party said on Friday that the decision to rent parliament's chamber to the European People's Party (EPP) on November 19 was scandalous, stressing that he expected Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his colleagues from the Serbian Progressive Party to attend the EPP gathering as well.

“Vucic, too, is a member of the EPP and he is expected to visit the Sabor on the day after the anniversary of the fall of Vukovar, so maybe he will be sitting in my place. I have put a sticker saying ‘Block Serbia’ on my bench… and that is my message to Prime Minister (Andrej) Plenkovic and Vucic,” Zekanovic told a news conference in the parliament.

He said that he intended to be in the parliament on November 19 and called on his colleagues to do the same.

“I plan to take my seat, I have electoral legitimacy for it, while Vucic, Merkel and others who plan to come, do not,” he said, noting that renting the parliament was compromising its dignity.

The EPP will hold an election convention in Zagreb on October 19-21 with more than 2,000 participants from nearly 40 countries. The hosts will be Prime Minister Plenkovic and EPP president Joseph Daul.