Vucic Says Both Serbia and EU Should Put Pride, Arrogance Aside

Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Serbia will stay on the European path, be that popular or not, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in Belgrade on May 9, stressing that both Belgrade and the EU should put "pride and arrogance" aside and talk about the future.

At a reception on Europe Day, May 9, held by Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret, Vucic said the orientation toward the Union "is sometimes less and sometimes more popular" in Serbia, but that it was "a strategic position that will not change in line with daily politics."

"I wish a happy Europe Day both to all of you and to the citizens of Serbia who want to be a part of Europe. I would not like to say any 'but' today, but I believe that in the future we could put pride and arrogance aside, us more, you less, and talk about the future," Vucic said at the reception in the Jevremovac Botanical Garden.

Vucic said he hoped Serbia would receive "more good messages from Brussels," primarily regarding the opening of clusters in the accession negotiations and advancing on the European path. "And we will have to make sure to meet the requirements with regard to the rule of law and media freedom. There is no doubt that we should implement reforms further, in some areas we are not behind some EU countries, although we still have to reform," said Vucic.

He went on to express gratitude to the EU for the enormous aid it had provided over the past two and a half decades, adding that many projects in Serbia, including some of the most important ones, could not have been launched without it.

The event was also attended by Serbian Prime Minister and Serbian Progressive Party leader Milos Vucevic, National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabic, Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, Interior Minister and leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia Ivica Dacic, and other state officials. Also among the guests were opposition leaders Zdravko Ponos, Miroslav Aleksic, Dobrica Veselinovic, Pavle Grbovic, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps, the civil sector, and the media.