Europe Risks Economic Ruin with Protectionism, Vucic Tells Bloomberg

Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said that Serbia will remain on its EU path, but Belgrade must take care of its own interests, assessing that Europe is sleepwalking into economic ruin because of complacency and poor productivity.

In an interview with Bloomberg upon returning from Beijing with more than USD1 billion of investment pledges for Serbia, Vucic said that there are too many obstacles that complicate the flow of investment between Europe, China and the US. Protectionism is “killing, in the end, Europe,” he added.

According to the article, during Vucic’s 12 years in power, Serbia has become one of China’s main entry points into Europe, injecting billions of dollars into its industries from mining to humanoid robots, while Chinese investments in Serbia have now caught up with those from the EU, financialpost.com has reported.

The US could invest as much as USD15 billion in Serbia in various energy and construction projects, Vucic said, without revealing further details.

Vucic is counting that his focus on job and wealth creation with the help of China and other allies like the United Arab Emirates will keep him in power despite mainly student-led protests against him which are now well into their second year. 

“We will do our job (regarding EU criteria). But in the meantime, we have to take care of ourselves. We cannot wait forever,” the Serbian president stressed. 

In the interview, Vucic said that Serbia will hold parliamentary and presidential votes this year. When asked whether he could return to power as prime minister, Vucic, whose second presidential term will expire in 2027, said “it might happen” because his Serbian Progressive Party might need his leadership.

Vucic also urged European politicians to make a bold decision and continue with the enlargement process. “We are on the EU path, and it does not matter what kind of pressure we will be facing about that. We will remain on the path,” he told Bloomberg.