Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has outlined his aim of meeting all the conditions for his country to join the European Union by 2026.
In a public address on Tuesday, November 19th, Vučić declared
I am not saying that we will join the European Union in 2026 or 2027—that decision is not ours but Europe’s. However, achieving all the criteria is an exceptionally ambitious goal.
The president added that this objective would be achieved through high growth rates, low inflation capped at 3.5%, a deficit not exceeding 3%, and public debt not exceeding 50%. His announcement followed the most recent visit of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to Belgrade, where she reaffirmed her commitment to Serbia’s EU membership.
Belgrade’s ambition was clearly expressed at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in February this year. But it also contrasts with Vučić’s comments on EU membership to the Globsec security conference in Prague in August this year:
I don’t believe we are going to be a part of the European Union in 2028… It’s not going to happen, I don’t lie to my people.
Last month, he suggested that Serbia could join the BRICS group of nations instead, possibly after a nationwide referendum.
Like many prospective EU members in the Balkans, Serbia has had to comply with Brussels’ demands for judicial independence, democracy and economic ‘reform,’ and anti-corruption—to be delivered under threat of ‘rule-of-law’ harassment. Yet there are additional pressures on Serbia because of its pro-ceasefire foreign policy on Ukraine and its political proximity to Moscow, and for its troubled relationship with Kosovo (which was previously part of Serbia).
EU High Representative Josep Borrell, in a press conference on EU enlargement last month, stated that
You simply cannot maintain ties with Russia, or to try to do business as usual and expect that your country will be part of the European Union. It is one thing or the other.
For Brussels hardliners, Vučić’s overtures will never be enough. Engjellushe Morina, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, complained in Politico that “Vučić’s leadership evokes memories of a bygone era under Milosevic, marked by nationalist posturing and regional dominance.”
