Macron in Belgrade: Serbia has a place in the EU and becomes a role model for the Western Balkans / Bljesak.info

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French President Emmanuel Macron said after meeting his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade that Serbia has a place in the European Union (EU).

Macron arrived in Serbia for a two-day visit and was greeted with the highest military honors by his colleague Vucic in front of the “Serbia” Palace. Vucic then held a meeting with Macron and a ceremony to exchange signed bilateral documents was held.

After the meeting, the French President expressed his gratitude to Vucic for his warm reception at a press conference and said he was happy to return to Serbia with the delegation.

“I want to convey France’s message of friendship to Serbia today and to show in the most decisive way that your country has a place in Europe, in the European Union,” Macron said.

New take-off

He stressed that in the past five years, Serbia-France relations have seen new improvements.

“Our economic cooperation has been strengthened. French companies are involved in long-term infrastructure projects such as the Belgrade metro, the modernization of the Nikola Tesla airport, whose successful completion we will celebrate tomorrow, as well as the modernization of the electricity distribution network, waste management and cooperation in the field of healthcare,” Macron said.

He stressed that economic activities are growing in both directions and achieving greater achievements.

“The French development agency has been present in Serbia since 2019, has allocated almost 600 million euros and continues its activities,” he said.

He noted that I am visiting Serbia again to ensure that Serbia and France can continue to move forward in the international and European context.

A lot of pressure

“A lot has happened in the last five years, we have faced a lot of tension. With Russian aggression in Ukraine, war has returned to the European continent. My message is simple: the EU and its member states need a strong and democratic Serbia in this situation, Serbia needs a strong and sovereign EU to defend its interests, Serbia can play a very important role in the EU and be a role model and flywheel for the whole EU. In the Western Balkans, we are ready to provide all necessary support in the economic field and in improving the rule of law and daily life,” Macron said.

He expressed hope that conditions for opening a new set of negotiation chapters between Serbia and the EU would be met soon.

“Like France, Serbia aspires to independence and sovereignty, which today only the European Union can offer, thanks to the means of strategic autonomy at its disposal. With strategic autonomy, we can consolidate it together and strengthen our security. This is not only at the level of being part of the European Union, it is already within the framework of the European political community, which we are building together with countries that want to be closer to the European Union, so the choice of the Rafale fighter jet is a clear choice that represents the will of our two countries for a long-term alliance as part of a strong and sovereign European Union,” Macron said.

Lithium mining…

He also commented on projects related to lithium and other mineral mining in Serbia.

“I see how enthusiasm is boiling here. In France, we have projects in this field and it is important that the government cooperates to ensure that these projects respect environmental protection. We can help you, but all decisions depend on Serbia. Serbia makes independent decisions,” he noted.

On the second day of his visit, Macron will travel to Novi Sad to visit the Matika Spreska Gallery and see a new installation. Macron and Vucic are expected to speak at the Novi Sad Youth and Artificial Intelligence Forum.

On the second day of the visit, the two presidents will hold a ceremony to unveil the completion of the modernization project of Belgrade “Nikola Tesla” Airport and deliver speeches, which will bring the visit to a successful conclusion. French President

In July 2019, the French president made his first official visit to Belgrade, when the two countries celebrated the 180th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Vucic made an official visit to Paris in April this year.