At a joint press conference with Ukraine’s president, Serbia’s leader offered support to Kyiv while warning that Europe’s political mood may block enlargement.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said he does not see a realistic possibility of his country joining the European Union in the near future. He cited political circumstances within the EU as one of the reasons.
Vučić said this in Belgrade during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He noted that he understood Ukraine’s desire to open all the negotiating clusters for EU accession as soon as possible.
But I do not see an opportunity, primarily for Serbia – I am not speaking about Ukraine now – to become an EU member in the near future, for many political reasons.
– Aleksandar Vučić
Vučić: Not All European Countries Support EU Enlargement
The Serbian president stressed that he had previously discussed with Volodymyr Zelenskyy the prospects of Ukraine, Moldova, and other countries joining the European Union. At the same time, he said, European countries do not have a uniform position on further enlargement of the bloc.
But I do not believe that this is completely open, or that all Europeans view our countries’ membership in the EU positively. And I always speak openly about this. For us, they will find Croatians, Bulgarians, and Dutch people, and for Ukraine they will find someone else. But I do not see a realistic possibility of putting this into practice at this point.
– Aleksandar Vučić
Vučić also assured that Serbia would not block Ukraine’s European integration or demand that its own application be considered first.
We will not say, “Take us first; do not take Ukraine.” Ukraine will never face such a problem, at least not from one small country like Serbia.
– Aleksandar Vučić
At the same time, the Serbian president believes that sufficiently strong political support will not emerge within the EU to significantly accelerate the European integration process for Ukraine and the Western Balkan countries.
Ukraine Expects the Opening of New Negotiating Clusters
Earlier, Aleksandar Vučić expressed support for Ukraine on its path to the EU and wished Kyiv success in opening and completing all the negotiating clusters.
Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Vsevolod Chentsov said that Ukraine expects the remaining negotiating clusters to be opened in the autumn.