Vucic: France Wants Results in Belgrade-Pristina Talks by First Half of 2022

Vucic, Macron in Paris (Beta/President press office/Dimitrije Goll)

In a statement he gave in Paris on the evening of Jan. 31, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that France wants certain results achieved in the Belgrade-Pristina normalization of relations process by the first half of 2022, during that country’s presidency of the EU Council.  
 
Vucic, who is to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in France on Feb. 1, told Pink TV that it “won’t be easy” to meet those expectations, given the challenges.
 
According to him, the two presidents will discuss, along with the matter of Kosovo, Serbia’s EU integration and bilateral political relations, which include economic relations.
 
“When it comes to the [EU] integration, it is important that we switch to the new methodology [of the accession negotiations] based on the French proposal, to open more new chapters by June, and twice as much by December; but it is up to us to accomplish some important things, when it comes to the rule of law, and make economic progress too,” Vucic said.
 
The construction of the metro system will give Belgrade “new advantages or [even put it] on par with much more important European centers,” Vucic said, adding that collaboration with French companies Alstom and Egis “is crucial” for this endeavor.