Djuric Discusses Serbia’s EU Accession and the Position of Serbs in Kosovo with Borrell

Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Marko Djuric, met today in Brussels with Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to discuss how Serbia can further advance towards European Union membership and the situation of Serbs in Kosovo.

Djuric emphasized that his presence in Brussels underscores the importance of Europe to Serbia.

"I firmly believe that Serbia is also important to Europe. Today, we discussed with Mr. Borrell how we can get closer on essential matters. Under the leadership of President Vučić in recent years, Serbia has made significant progress in strengthening our economy, infrastructure, and institutions. In some respects, we are already ahead of certain EU member states," said the minister.

He added that Serbia wants its contributions to be recognized.

"We want to be good students in the sense that we are a country recognized for all the good work we have done on reforms and strengthening the rule of law and our institutions. At the same time, we want our contributions and our value as a people and as a country to be acknowledged. We want an equal place at the European table. We do not want to be treated as a second-class country in any way. We deserve only the best," Djuric asserted.

He also discussed the position of Serbs in Kosovo with Borrell, emphasizing the importance of addressing their concerns.

“Their position is terrible. I pointed out the fact that systemic discrimination against Serbs in our southern province continues. Yesterday, 100 new public executors were appointed in Kosovo and Metohija, and not a single one of them is of Serbian nationality, despite a large number of qualified and skilled Serbian applicants. I cite this as an example because we discussed many specific aspects of the violation of the collective political and human rights of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” said Djuric.

The minister also emphasized that Serbia will complete all the necessary reforms for EU accession by 2027, encompassing economic, political, and other spheres of life.

“We expect that, finally, 27 years after embarking on this political path, our efforts will be recognized. We also expect and desire that this autumn, this progress will be acknowledged by the opening of new clusters and chapters, even though this no longer attracts the same level of political attention from the broader public in Serbia. However, it is crucial for our overall positioning on the European continent. This is all important for our standard of living, our economy, and the type of society we want to build in Serbia. Therefore, the conversation with Mr. Borrell, an experienced statesman representing not only European institutions but also the political will of 27 member countries, was very good and cordial,” the Serbian Foreign Minister assessed.

He further mentioned that it is symbolically significant that he visited Brussels in the early weeks and months of the new government’s mandate, despite a packed agenda.

“Yesterday, I was in the Czech Republic, last week in Washington. Tonight, I have the great honor of welcoming the Japanese Foreign Minister to Belgrade, who will be our guest tomorrow. Japan is a major power from the Far East with whom we have excellent economic relations, and I expect positive and good news for the citizens of Serbia, for our economy, and for our relations in general. We are continuing with intensive diplomatic activities, primarily based on what is in Serbia’s national interest, not just on what is politically most popular,” said the minister.

When asked about reports that Serbia’s alignment with EU policies has dropped to 48%, Djuric emphasized that the High Representative and European institutions have been very clear in their expectations for Serbia to align with the EU’s foreign and security policy.

“My comment on that is that percentages cannot easily express and determine a country’s commitment to European values and joining European policy. This cannot be measured solely by numbers. In essential matters, Serbia contributes much more to common European policy than some countries that nominally have 100% alignment with European foreign and security policy percentages. The people in the buildings behind me and around us know this very well. Of course, they will always expect more, and we will always take into account what is in Serbia’s interest. Serbia’s interest is also to continue and accelerate the path towards the EU,” concluded Djuric.