Vucic at GLOBSEC: Reason for Drop in EU’s Popularity in Serbia Is EU, Not Russia

Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/PREDSEDNISTVO SRBIJE/DIMITRIJE GOLL/MO)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in Prague on June 13 that the drop in the popularity of the European Union's among the people of Serbia was not related to ties with Russia, but to certain actions by the 27-nation bloc that were not conducive to mutual trust.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the GLOBSEC 2025 security forum, Vucic said the important question for Serbia was what the EU wanted with the Western Balkans -- whether it wanted the region's countries in its ranks or not. "They always get one country to find fault with a candidate state. For North Macedonia, they have Bulgaria, for Serbia they have Croatia and some other countries that will do this. That does not contribute to trust between us," Vucic said at the panel titled, Seize the Moment: Creating Lasting Partnership in the Neighborhood (EU).

Vucic said it may have been his "mistake that the EU isn't popular as it once was in Serbia," adding that maybe he should change his attitude to allow for "better propaganda" for membership in the EU in Serbia. "We had the same kind of closeness with Russia 20 years ago, when 80 percent of citizens were for the EU. Now 40 percent are for the EU -- half as many. It's not like that just in Serbia. The same problem exists in North Macedonia. Maybe the Macedonians are even more skeptical of the European path than Serbs. It doesn't have anything to do with Russia, but with our needs and expectations, as well as some disappointments," Vucic said.

He said joining the EU was primarily a political matter that did not have much to do with merit, whatever EU representatives may claim. "People in Europe keep talking about a merit-based approach, but that has never been the case. If you recall the situation in Romania and Bulgaria, it has always been a political decision, not something based on merit," Vucic said.