The interview has been translated from Slovenian to English with the assistance of AI.
LJUBLJANA – “Serbia will be able to enter the European Union when it has as strong a people as it does today, who are vigilant about what their politicians are doing. This has already proven to be very good in Slovenia in the past. As I said before, without the involvement of civil society, there can be no enlargement process. I trust the Serbian people to steer their politicians in such a way that Serbia can become a member of the European Union”, said Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos in an interview for RTV Slovenia.
Answering the question about negative reactions to her tweet after meeting with the Serbian president and after a mass protest held on March 15 in Belgrade, Kos said that it’s hard to explain everything in 280 characters.
“I respect differing opinions. I understand that those who have been protesting in Serbia for quite some time were dissatisfied, but diplomacy often involves not saying everything because it could harm various parties. I can’t tell you everything now, either. So, on one hand, I understand, but on the other hand, my work can’t be judged based on 280 characters. We’ve learned from this, of course, that we need to be more careful with communication, especially in these sensitive times. I should also mention that I am much more in touch with NGOs, whom I’ve met in Brussels, than with the government of Serbia or its president,” Kos said.
She added that she also told the President of Serbia that it is unacceptable to accuse the European Commission of funding those NGOs, which, according to him, are trying to overthrow him.
“Many NGOs in Serbia wouldn’t survive without our support, and precisely because of the exceptional importance of NGOs, I decided to allocate an additional 16 million euros for them for the period from this year until the end of 2027. I cannot imagine the negotiation process with Serbia taking place without the involvement of civil society, and I made that very clear to President Vučić,” Kos said.
She assessed that Serbia’s path to the European Union is not simple, adding that the country has been a candidate since 2014 and that there have been complete blockages along the way.
“This conversation with President Vučić, which was not easy, has led to him making promises not just to me but also to the President of the European Commission and the President of the Council, that Serbia will do everything I told him it needs to do on its European path in the coming weeks. I really just ask for understanding that at a certain stage of all the steps we need to take, I cannot announce them in advance or criticize them,” Kos said.
Answering the question of why she met with Vučić, Kos asked with whom the EU should talk in order to move the process forward at this stage, when there is no Prime Minister and when ministers are not working.
“He is the only politician with whom we can currently discuss the European path. And words are certainly one thing, actions are another. I’ve been a commissioner for four months, and at the start, there were more words, but then actions must follow. If anyone, then I, as the Commissioner for Enlargement, will carefully watch what will be realized from what has been agreed with President Vučić. This will also be decided by the member states, who will support the opening of the third cluster or not,” Kos said.