Serbia is the most influential among the candidate countries for membership in the European Union, but it is not realistic to join the EU with its current leadership, which sits on four chairs, it was said at a press conference of MEPs from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats political group, the Croatian news agency HINA reported, quoted by BTA.
"Our sincere opinion is that President Aleksandar Vucic's ambition is not to join the EU, as this would mean that he and his camp would very strictly adhere to the EU's rules and standards regarding the democratic system, freedom of the media, minorities and other issues. Instead, he is playing his own game," said MEP Tonino Picula, who is the rapporteur for Serbia in the European Parliament (EP).
He, together with Belgian MEP Kathleen van Brempt, who is responsible for enlargement in the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group, and the rapporteur for Albania, Austrian MEP Andreas Scheider, commented on the role of enlargement in the current geopolitical context.
Croatian MEP Picula said that Serbia is pursuing a multi-vector foreign policy.
"There are four pillars of Serbian foreign policy - the EU, the US, Russia and China, and I don't think it is possible to sit on four chairs at the same time. I don't think we share the same values and geopolitical goals with China and Russia in most areas, and we share less and less with the US," said Picula.
When asked if Serbia could join the EU with its current leadership, Picula answered negatively, stressing that it is impossible to have the ambition to conclude membership negotiations by the end of 2026, as the Serbian leadership claims, without a radical change in position and behavior in many areas.
– It is up to Serbian citizens to choose the government they want, and it is up to the EU to assess whether Serbia meets the criteria necessary to progress on the path to membership," said Picula.
The leader in the accession process among the Western Balkan countries is currently Montenegro. Serbia has not opened a single negotiation chapter in the past three years.
Picula warned that Montenegro's strongest party governs in a coalition with a pro-Serbian camp that opposes the country's NATO and EU membership.
"They are openly pro-Russian and only pretend that they want Montenegro to move forward towards the EU," Picula said. He added that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, if he remains in power, will not allow Montenegro to make significant progress compared to Serbia on the path to EU membership.