Vucic told for the "Financial Times": The EU has never provided Serbia with as much support as Ukraine

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, told for the Financial Times that he has nothing against the Ukrainian people, but that the level of EU support for Ukraine- the granting of candidate status for EU membership within a year from the date of submission of the application and the possible start of membership negotiations next year - shows that such political support has never existed for Serbia, reports Politika.

The British newspaper reminds that Kiev applied for membership in February 2022, a few days after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, and just four months later it was granted a candidate status. In contrast, Belgrade waited more than four years to start membership negotiations.

Therefore, in the text of the "Financial Times", as reported by Politika, it is stated that some leaders of the Western Balkans are frustrated that Ukraine is overtaking their countries in joining the EU.

Negotiations between Serbia and the EU are at a standstill due to several issues, including, as it says, "the failure of Belgrade to normalize relations with Kosovo."

It is also recalled that Serbia is the only country in the Western Balkans that did not impose sanctions on Russia, which, as stated, reduced its prospects for EU membership.

The newspaper also recalls another unsuccessful meeting within the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on Thursday in Brussels and points out that then the EU's high representative for foreign policy and security, Josep Borrell, said that "without normalization, there will be no European future for either Kosovo or Serbia."

However, Vucic told for the "Financial Times" that the postponement of membership does not reflect the reality in Serbia, which he points out is "in a much better condition than Romania and Bulgaria were in 2007, when they entered the EU."

Vucic also pointed to the declining ability of the EU to receive new members.

"First we heard about 2025, now about 2030. Who knows what will happen in seven years? The absorption power of the EU is not greater than it was," Vucic said.

The text also mentions the recently held 18th Bled Strategic Forum, from which the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that the European Union must be ready for expansion by 2030, emphasizing that this includes the countries of the Western Balkans, reports Sputnik.

After Michel's statement, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama questioned the stated target year, noting that the case of Ukraine shows that war can accelerate accession.

"Who needs to attack whom on this panel in order to gain membership faster?" jokingly asked Rama on one of the panels, then added that "Bulgaria can attack North Macedonia, Croatia can attack Serbia, Serbia can attack Kosovo, and Bosnia can attack itself," writes Politika.