BELGRADE – António Costa, President of the European Council, started his Western Balkans tour by visiting Serbia today. Later in the day, he will head to Bosnia and Herzegovina, while on 14 May, he will visit Montenegro and Kosovo. On 15 May, Costa will travel to North Macedonia, and his final stop in the region will be in Albania. On Friday, 16 May, Costa will co-host the sixth European Political Community Summit in Tirana.
In Belgrade, António Costa met the leadership of Serbia and the members of the Parliament. After the meeting with the Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Costa said that “the EU remains strongly committed to the accession of Serbia as a stable, peaceful and prosperous country, having dealt with the legacy of the past and having chosen to embrace its democratic and European future”.
“I was glad to hear that EU integration remains a top priority for you and the new government. What is important now is that this swiftly translates into concrete actions and acceleration of reforms”, António Costa noted at the joint press conference with Vučić.
Referring to Serbia’s EU path, he reminded me that it was a merit-based process.
“What needs to be done as a next step in order to open Cluster 3 is very clear and is what we previously agreed to do: enhance media freedom, fight corruption and reform the electoral law. It is good to hear from you, dear Aleksandar, what you are doing to move forward”, Costa stressed.
He remarked that the reforms which should be implemented were not “an exercise of ticking boxes”.
“These reforms will bring tangible benefits to Serbian citizens. The full alignment with the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and the resolution of bilateral issues are also essential elements for your accession. The Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is a crucial point. And of course, we cannot ignore in this regard that, as you know, a key element of our Common Foreign and Security Policy is a clear condemnation of the Russian brutal invasion of Ukraine and the support to Ukraine to achieve a just and lasting peace”, Costa said.
He added that the EU enlargement was based on building trust.
“I know that a lot of people, not only in Serbia, but in the whole region, lost their faith in this process. And I came here today to assure you of my personal engagement and the European Union’s full commitment to deliver on enlargement”, Costa noted.
According to Costa, “Serbia’s future is in the European Union”.
“The ball is in your camp, now. And, please, we cannot waste time, the future does not wait – to open Cluster 3 and to continue achieving a successful accession of Serbia to the European Union”, he concluded.
Vučić: The EU membership is the goal and the path of Serbia
Aleksandar Vučić said that the EU membership was “the goal, the path and the political will of Serbia”.
“Serbia’s political will is to speed up its EU integration, to do its job, to open Cluster 3 as soon as possible, whether it will be in June or October, I do not think anyone can tell… The atmosphere, now, I am convinced, because of my trip to Moscow, is not so good, but we are on the way to fulfil all the promises we made in March, and then I believe that in Europe they will have an understanding for the merit-based progress”, Vučić noted.
He added that he believed that Serbia will be able to get the green light both for Cluster 3, and later for some other clusters, i.e. the remaining chapters, by the EU.
“I believe that in a year or so, we will start to close some chapters. This is not just a bureaucratic or technical issue, as someone would say, it is a question of political will, where we want to belong”, Aleksandar Vučić underlined.
Costa also met with the Serbian Prime Minister Đuro Macut and the Speaker of the Parliament Ana Brnabić. It was stated by the National Assembly that the topics of the meeting with Brnabić were focused on Serbia’s further steps on the EU path, and on the improvement of its relations with the European Union.
Opposition informed Costa about the current crisis
N1 reports that in his address to the media after Costa’s meeting with the opposition MPs, Radomir Lazović, the leader of the opposition Green-Left Front, said that one of the main topics was the “deep crisis that Serbia is faced up with”.
“We presented the fact that the largest protests in the history of the country are taking place in Serbia, which showed that the current government does not have the legitimacy. We expressed our view that we support Serbia’s progress in European integration… We believe that the EU should give clear support to the citizens of Serbia, who demand a fight against corruption, and accountability”, Lazović remarked.