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Serbian President in panel on “Integrating the Western Balkans into the EU”
* We have different assessments of the future of the EU, but we all want to be part of it, but we are not sure what the EU membership will look like. It is clear that momentum is building in Ukraine and Moldova, which is understandable, but at the same time there is public fatigue within the EU about the issue of enlargement.
* Neither Montenegro nor Serbia will join the EU in 2028, maybe someone will join in the 2030s… We managed to surpass everyone in the Western Balkans, although we were fourth 10 years ago. Now we have moved from fourth to first place in the region in almost all parameters
*The EU must accept the fact that Serbia has different views on some issues, and this should not jeopardize the unity of the EU… How will we deal with resolution 1244 concerning Serbia’s territorial integrity. We have different views on these issues and we know that we cannot be part of the EU until we resolve them in a way that is equally unsatisfactory and equally satisfactory to both sides.
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The Serbian President said today that he is not optimistic about Serbia’s progress in integrating into the European Union before 2028. He does not believe it will happen by 2028 and his assessment is that it will not happen before 2030.
– I wish Montenegro all the best, but I do not believe that they will be part of the EU in 2028, I do not even believe that we will be part of the EU in 2028 – Vucic said at the panel session “Joining the Western Balkans to the EU”, which is part of the Prague Global Security Forum “GLOBSEC 2024”.
He assessed that the EU’s interests often differed from Serbia’s and said his assessment was that the region’s candidate country would not join the EU before 2030.
– We have different assessments of the future of the EU, but we all want to be part of it, but we are not sure what the EU membership will look like. Vucic said that it is clear that momentum is growing in Ukraine and Moldova, which is understandable, but at the same time, within the EU the public is tired of the issue of enlargement.
He added that the most important thing for Serbia at the moment is to take some concrete steps.
– For us, it is important to create a single European payments area as soon as possible, to create green corridors for our trucks, for our industry when we export to the EU and vice versa. Vucic said that in order to attract more investors, to implement processes and reforms, in terms of the judicial system … to attract foreign direct investments.
He said he has always been pragmatic, not a big dreamer, and is very interested in Serbia’s economic progress.
– We managed to surpass everyone in the Western Balkans, even though we were fourth ten years ago. Now we have moved from fourth to first place in the region in almost all parameters, ”said Vucic.
He added that Serbia must undergo certain changes, implement certain reforms before it can join the EU, but he also said that the EU must accept the fact that Serbia has different views on certain issues and this should not undermine unity in the EU.
– When we talk about the UN Charter or UN resolutions, the fact is that Russia started aggression against Ukraine, and when you turn to Serbia, what are we going to do with our Charter and Resolution 1244, which mentions the territorial integrity of Serbia. These are some of the issues that we look at differently and we know that we cannot be part of the European Union until we resolve them in a way that is equally unsatisfactory and equally satisfying to both sides, ”Vucic concluded.
Commenting on the statement of Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic that Montenegro’s foreign policy is fully aligned with the EU, that it has used the Euro as its official currency for 20 years and has been a member of NATO for seven years, the Montenegrin President assessed the advantages of joining the EU, and Vucic said, “Milatovic wants to say that Serbia disagrees with the EU on everything, such as sanctions against Russia.”
He noted that the euro is not an official currency in Serbia, but they use their own currency and are proud of it. He added that Serbia is not a member of NATO because they bombed Yugoslavia in 1999, but said Serbia has good relations with NATO.
– Our cooperation is constantly developing and I can say that we rely on NATO to protect the Serbian people in Kosovo, especially in northern Kosovo, – said the Serbian head of state.
(Tanuq)
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