Vucic, Macron Discuss Europe’s Future, what Serbia Can Expect

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

A meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron had focused around the future of Europe and what could be Serbia’s expectations in that respect, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters in Paris in the evening on Nov. 11.

Vucic said he had told his French counterpart that he had not been getting an answer to the question whether the EU could guarantee Serbia’s membership by 2025, if Belgrade settled the Kosovo issue.

Vucic described the meeting as “warm, good, open, and friendly,” noting it consisted of three parts.

The first part focused around Europe’s future and what Serbia could expect. “The word I used was ‘clarity.’ What we could expect and what is that we could hope for in the future,” Vucic stressed.

The second part of the meeting addressed the so-called “mini-Schengen” initiative of Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania.

“I asked Macron for support and I am assured that we will get his backing as the initiative relies on four important freedoms which are promoted by the EU and which are the universal freedoms,” Vucic noted.

In the meeting, Vucic presented the World Bank’s figures, according to which, the initiative would save a total of EUR3.5 billion to six Western Balkan countries, and EUR1.5 billion to Serbia alone.

The third part of the meeting was devoted to Belgrade-Pristina relations, according to Vucic.

“Europe will wait until after the formation of a government in Pristina. I believe that Europe will invite both sides to talk in an attempt to find a compromise. I am not sure that it will be easy, but President Macron believes in everything we discussed in Belgrade, in the necessity of reaching a compromise solution, and I believe he will try to help,” Vucic noted.

Those were the three key topics of the meeting, Vucic said, adding that Serbia had no problem with the French president’s openness.

“It is better to know where we stand than to be lied to…,” Vucic noted.

The Serbian president further said he took the opportunity during a dinner organized by Macron for the Paris Peace Forum participants to talk with a large number of people from different parts of the world.

Vucic also said that he could not talk about the conclusions of the meeting with Macron, but noted that the French president understood the situation very well.

“We would have continued to talk had U.S. President Donald Trump not phoned,” Vucic said.

They agreed to have a phone call by December, after the formation of a cabinet in Pristina, and to plan a meeting for January.