Europol misquoted by Serbian media

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Europol on Thursday denied claims in some Serbian media that the authorities in Belgrade did not ask for help in dealing with the false bomb threats earlier this week.

“Europol was misquoted in Serbian media yesterday as having confirmed that the Agency did not receive a request for support from Serbian authorities. This is a misunderstanding based on language comprehension. Europol’s press office did indeed speak to a Serbia media outlet yesterday, but said that Europol’s press office had no knowledge of this fact and invited the journalist to seek confirmation with the Serbian authorities,” a statement said.

It explained that “this is different to confirming that Europol did not receive a request for support from the Serbian authorities”.

“This is something Europol would in any case not be able to comment on, as it’s for the national authorities to decide whether or not they wish to (a) to ask for Europol’s support and (b) make it known to the public,” the Europol statement said.

Serbian media reported that official Belgrade asked for help from police agencies in European Union member states and Europol in dealing with the false bomb threats that forced the evacuation of more than 170 schools and several hospitals in the Serbian capital, an airport in the southern city of Nis.