Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s statement that Serbia had “travelled an impressive part of the path” towards the EU, and his encouragement (short of a promise) that candidate countries might join the EU by 2025, now leaves a somewhat bitter taste
Speaking in the presence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, current Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated during his April 2018 visit to Belgrade, then as president of the European Council, “allow me to quote your renowned writer, Borislav Pekić, who devoted his life to the European values of democracy and freedom and who, thirty years ago, wrote an article entitled ‘The Desire for Europe’, in which he stated: I want Serbia’s history to also be its future, not merely a patriotic recollection.”
Despite Pekić being a founder of the Democratic Party, a rival and opponent of Šešelj’s Radicals and subsequently Vučić’s Progressives, it was only under a Progressive-led government in Belgrade that a monument was finally erected in his honour. Vučić took pride in this, and would even occasionally make reference to Pekić in public, despite his and his party’s practices gradually drifting away from Pekić’s ideals – if indeed Vučić was ever genuinely so inclined. It is worth recalling that Pekić lost the 1991 local elections in the Belgrade municipality of Rakovica to Vučić’s mentor, Vojislav Šešelj.
Following the recent Belgrade meeting between Vučić and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, Serbia is – at least officially – continuing its EU integration path. Whether this is in the true spirit of that process is questionable, given the headline of one pro-government daily’s coverage of the Vučić-Kallas encounter: “We Will Preserve Peace, Stability and Our Vital Interests.” Which could be translated as: EU, yes, but on our terms. Speaking on Europe Day, while Vučić was attending the Victory Day parade in Moscow, outgoing EU Ambassador Emanuele Giaufret stated that “Serbia needs to turn towards the EU,” a remark that sounds paradoxical for a country that’s been headed squarely in that direction for years. The recent Tirana summit sent another strong message of support for enlargement, which even Vučić’s media outlets acknowledged, albeit with a precautionary note via another telling headline on the eve of the European Political Community summit in Tirana: “Serbia, a Sovereign Bastion in a Visionless Europe.” Pro-government narratives regarding the student protest situation clearly suggest “Brussels interference”.
At least one timeframe remains in place: the one proposed by Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the 2022 summit of the Southeast European Cooperation Process in Thessaloniki, when he suggested that 2033 serve as the target date for the EU accession of all Western Balkan countries
Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s statement that Serbia had “travelled an impressive part of the path” towards the EU, and his encouragement (short of a promise) that candidate countries might join the EU by 2025, now leaves a somewhat bitter taste. Juncker made that statement in Albania, which officially overtook Serbia on the European path this May, through the opening of Cluster 3. There is legitimate concern among Serbia’s liberal circles that the country will miss the window to accede alongside Albania and Montenegro, with the latter remaining the region’s frontrunner.
At least one timeframe remains in place: the one proposed by Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the 2022 summit of the Southeast European Cooperation Process in Thessaloniki, when he suggested that 2033 serve as the target date for the EU accession of all Western Balkan countries.
Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos emphasised in late March that the protesting students’ demands mirrored those of the Commission. These include urgent reforms, with a timeframe of three to four weeks for “swift action” to be taken. We are now in June, the weeks have passed, Vučić has regained control to some extent, and the Đura Macut government is even more reactionary than that of Miloš Vučević. That’s why, as the well-informed would say with a hint of cynicism, Serbia remains on the European path. At least Kallas refrained from calling Vučić “dear Aleksandar”, unlike Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa before her.
Although the EU is a capitalist construct, Lenin’s phrase “one step forward, two steps back” remains the most accurate characterisation of Serbia’s so-called EU journey