The most recent official visit of Emmanuel Macron to Serbia took place in late August. This successful visit built on Serbia’s already vibrant diplomatic activity during this year, which previously saw Belgrade welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in May and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in July
France is committed to supporting Serbia’s EU future – a future that is now being written, said President Macron during his 9th April 2020 meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić at Paris’s Élysée Palace. That was one of a series of meetings between the two presidents that outlined the growth of bilateral economic and political relations. The July 2019 visit of the French president to Belgrade, marking the 180th anniversary of the establishing of diplomatic relations, proved to be a memorable one. Speaking in Serbian at Kalemegdan Fortress, the French president addressed those in attendance, saying “France loves you as you loved her”. Macron’s most recent official visit to Serbia took place in late August and built on Serbia’s already vibrant diplomatic activity during this year, which previously saw Belgrade welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in May and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in July.
How would it be possible to realise Serbia’s European future in practice? On the military side, Serbia is obliged to ensure the safety of its airspace, which it has done to date using Russian-made combat aircraft that are becoming obsolete. Serbia should procure a squadron of the new generation of France’s modern Rafale fighter jets in the near future, with the deal valued at a total of approximately three billion euros.
Serbia’s citizens are increasingly vocal in expressing their demand for a clean environment and adequate quantities of clean drinking water, particularly during the sweltering summer months. Cooperation with France in the fields of ecology and water management would be invaluable, considering the country’s technological knowhow. Serbia will also have to consider its next steps in the energy sector, given the increasing amounts of electricity being consumed. Once it has utilised all its hydro resources, it should be ready to introduce modern nuclear technology. France’s new generation of small modular reactors represents a possible solution for the decades ahead.
Serbia’s EU accession journey has been at a standstill for the past two and a half years, given that Cluster 3 hasn’t even been opened despite Belgrade having long been ready for that. French political support would be important in this sense
Serbia’s EU accession journey has been at a standstill for the past two and a half years, given that Cluster 3 hasn’t even been opened despite Belgrade having long been ready for that. French political support would be important in this sense.
France and Italy also halted the accession of the so-called Republic of Kosovo to the Council of Europe, but the regime of Albin Kurti is now preparing to apply new pressure to the Serb population with the opening of a bridge in Kosovka Mitrovica. The French president holds the firm stance that Pristina must establish the Community of Serb Municipalities, as the ultimate precondition for the survival of the Serbian people in Kosovo.
Serbia is also increasingly investing in healthcare equipment, but that’s not enough. A higher level of training for doctors and the improved organisation of work is required, and French knowhow should be utilised to this end.
We can see from all of the aforementioned that the field for French-Serbian cooperation is wide, but also that Serbia’s route to the European Union could lead us via Paris.