Vucic: Serbia Set to Fulfill All Obligations through the Growth, Reform Agendas by 2027

Emanuele Giaufret, Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Nov. 4 that Serbia's goal was to fulfill all its obligations on its European path by 2027, using the Growth Agenda and Reform Agenda, regardless of, as he put it, whether the country actually joined the European Union.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Emmanuel Giaufret, Vucic said he had no objections to what European officials had outlined in the European Commission's report on Serbia.

"There are things that are entirely accurate, and we have failed to meet those requirements, most of which related to the alignment of Serbia’s foreign policy, as we have failed to impose sanctions against Russia, or introduce visas for certain countries, and the issue of many acting directors in state enterprises is still unaddressed," the president said.

Vucic reiterated that Serbia is on the European path and that the EU is Serbia's largest foreign trade partner, adding that there is a clear intent "by so many actors, inside and outside,  to weaken Serbia so that others can proceed at the same pace or to prevent Serbia from advancing faster than others."

The president also said that Serbia and the EU have different views on Kosovo, as well as on foreign and security policy, and that Serbia believed that dialogue was the only way to reach a compromise.