Vucic: You expect me to really believe that the EU will accept us by 2026 - it doesn't occur to them

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said today in Skopje that the EU would not admit the countries of the Western Balkans either in 2026 or 2028, adding that he had also pointed out today that it was important for the countries of the region to be closer to each other and to act as a single bloc before Union.

After the meeting held as a part of the Brdo-Brijuni Summit, Vucic, answering the question of whether he thinks it is possible for the countries of the Western Balkans to become EU members by 2026, as heard today, asked if they really expected him to believe in it.

"Some think that we should enter in 2026, I smile. I'm a political wolf, a veteran; what do you want from me to really believe that we will enter the EU by then, to lie to our people? It doesn't occur to them to do that, let's face it, they won't accept us either in 2027 or 2028," Vucic said.

He reported that he had said at the meeting today that he thought it was important for the Western Balkans that the countries of the region were closer to each other.

"It is important that we ourselves ensure the free flow of people, capital, goods, and services, that we are the ones who will increase our GDP, that we present ourselves as a single block, and that we present ourselves in front of the EU. I hope that it will find fertile ground in the Western Balkans also," the President of Serbia said.

When asked what he thought about the Bulgarian blockade of North Macedonia in the European integration, as well as whether it was possible for Croatia to do the same to Serbia, Vucic said that everything was possible and said that Serbia loved the Macedonians.

"We are not asking for anything, just to preserve friendship. I said even today that Serbia recognized the Macedonian language, the Macedonian church, we have no problem with that," Vucic said.