'Belgrade has understood Brussels' message well,'stated the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, adding that he does not believe Serbia will become an EU member state anytime soon, much like Ukraine and certain other countries.
He was reacting to the decision of the member states' ambassadors, who failed to reach a consensus on opening Cluster 3 for Serbia during yesterday's meeting.
'We are not angry; they are our partners. You want some other people, that is all fine. I repeat, I have a certain kind of hope, and I am grateful to Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa... They made an effort, they even fought for Serbia. However, we have to live,' he told RTS.
He pointed out that during the debate, only two or three EU countries were strongly opposed to opening Cluster 3 for Serbia, while other countries raised certain objections. When asked whether he expects a positive outcome, Vučić said he could not say, adding that you cannot change political will and that not everything is based on merit. He stressed that what hurts him most is that our people worked hard and invested a great deal of energy.
'I said: you have complete freedom, complete political freedom to do everything the European Commission asks, to show that we can, that we have the capacity, and that we can implement reforms faster than others. This was even noted by the Croatian MEP Davor Ivo Stier, who said, "When Serbia wants to, you see just how quickly it can change a lot of things,"' Vučić said.
He added that it remains for us to hope and see how it turns out, noting that one should neither despair nor rejoice too much.
'Simply put, all of this is somewhat expected. We have gone nearly five years without any progress - not because we haven't made progress, as you can see across all spheres, primarily the most important one: the quality of life for Serbian citizens and economic growth. We are overtaking all those who were ahead of us for years and decades, but political will is something else. I am very grateful to Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa for the immense effort and energy they invested. I am also grateful to Chancellor Merz, President Macron, Prime Minister Meloni, and all our other friends who support Serbia,' Vučić pointed out.
He also added that he believes both Serbia and Ukraine are 'too large for the EU to accommodate'.
'And, of course, there are other factors, from Kosovo and Metohija and our relations with Russia and the People's Republic of China... And increasingly, towards the United States of America,' the President of Serbia concluded.
(EUpravo zato)
