Vucic: The world is heading in a mad direction

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, who is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, said that the world is heading in a mad direction and that Serbia must preserve peace and its rapidly growing economy.

In a statement to journalists, Vucic said that he had carefully listened to the speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which he described as carefully nuanced, and in which she said that, due to the decisions of some others, there would be a permanent “divorce” between the United States and the EU.

He noted that she said this is why Europe must develop its political and economic independence.

“There is no return to the old ways, because that will not happen. This is a permanent development between America and Europe,” Vucic added, saying that he does not believe Europe is ready to defend Greenland by military means.

He stressed that von der Leyen twice reiterated the desire to establish full political and security independence of the EU, spoke about the importance of enlargement to include Ukraine, and did not, he added, rule out the accession of Norway and Iceland, while also speaking about the closest cooperation with Canada and the United Kingdom.

“She used three words when speaking about U.S. sanctions, calling them a mistake. She said the response would be proportional, resolute, and that Europe would be united in its response,” Vucic said.
According to him, this opens up numerous other questions.

He noted that von der Leyen spoke about the EU concluding new trade agreements, such as Mercosur with South America, which they will seek to extend to Mexico, and that they are doing the same with Indonesia, the Emirates, and others.

In his words, the mother of all agreements will be a free trade agreement with India, which would give the EU new opportunities in many fields.

Vucic said he had spoken with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, who, he added, has always been helpful to Serbia, and with whom he will have an important discussion in February.

“She, although she hopes otherwise, does not believe that there will be a rapprochement between America and Europe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Nor do I believe it. I expect a strong speech by Trump in the opposite direction from what we have heard,” he said, warning of spillover effects on everything.

Vucic stressed that playing with tariffs, halting trade, imposing rules, dismantling multilateral institutions, and making decisions on a day-to-day basis is not good.

“We will always advocate multilateral solutions to problems, but slowly and surely we are entering a phase of day-to-day problem-solving,” Vucic underlined.

He said that these concerns were also voiced by China’s representative, noting that China participated in the World Economic Forum for the first time in the 1980s, when it accounted for only two percent of global GDP, while today it stands at 20 percent.

He announced that Serbia will, after all this, have to make its own decisions and pursue its own approach.

“The world is heading in a mad direction. We must preserve peace and a rapidly growing economy. We have begun working on the ‘Serbia 2035’ plan, and in line with that I am ready to talk with all political actors and hear their views on everything, to speak with the people and explain what dangers lie ahead. None of this is heading in a good direction for the world as a whole. From all the speeches we could hear how great the concern is,” he said.

Vucic noted that it could be heard that an entirely new world order is being created, one that has nothing to do with the existing one, and that the sovereignty of small countries will be denied, demands will be imposed on them, while Serbia wants to preserve its sovereignty.

Asked whether Europe has the strength to confront the United States, and given the observation that, after years of distancing itself from China, this could lead to the isolation of the European continent—and where Serbia stands in all this—Vucic replied that Serbia will cooperate with China, the United States, and Europe.

“I believe I will soon receive an invitation for an official bilateral visit to China, which is important for us, and that we will do a great deal with the Americans as well as with the Europeans,” Vucic said.

He pointed to the problem that, in his view, could arise from the EU–Mercosur agreement, noting that it is unclear in which areas it will have positive and in which negative effects—German and French cars will be sold in South America, but far more Chilean and Argentine wines will reach Europe and will be cheaper.

He stressed that Europe’s competitiveness is declining and that its growth is insufficient, while in the fields of artificial intelligence and information technologies it lags behind the United States and China.

“That is why the question is the unity of EU Member States and whether everyone in the EU agrees with what von der Leyen said, which she said wisely. There are many unknowns, and we will be able to hear much more after Donald Trump’s speech. A new world is being created, a different one, and we must be wise enough to hide a little under a rock, to wait for the rain to pass until the sun appears—to preserve ourselves,” President Vucic concluded.