Serbia explores BRICS membership amid growing Euroscepticism

Serbian Vice President Aleksandar Vulin has said that Serbia will consider joining BRICS as a real alternative to joining the European Union (EU).

He made the remarks in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung and noted that BRICS is attractive for Serbia, it will attend a future summit of the organisation in Kazan and is exploring the possibility of membership, Caliber.Az reports.

Vulin said that studying all options, including BRICS, is necessary because it would be irresponsible not to consider such an option. He recalled that many countries have found joining the organisation attractive. 

He mentioned Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates as examples. According to him, there is no doubt that BRICS has become a real alternative to the EU.

On October 7, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called BRICS a benchmark of diplomacy. According to him, multipolarity is achieved in the world thanks to the work of such institutions as BRICS.

“It would be irresponsible if we did not explore all options, including BRICS membership. If BRICS countries are attractive to other countries, such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Türkiye, why should Serbia be any different? So there is no doubt that BRICS has become a real alternative to the EU,” he said.

In the interview, Vulin described himself as a Eurosceptic and said that he had formed such an attitude after he ‘got to know the EU from the inside’.

According to him, the EU imposes conditions on Serbia that it cannot fulfil and does not perceive the country as a partner. “Just tell us: we don't want you,” Vulin stated.

In September, Vulin said Serbia would not join the European Union if the conditions for doing so were recognition of the independence of the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo, participation in the conflict with Russia and China, or a commitment to allow same-sex marriage (Russia's Supreme Court recognised the "international LGBT social movement" as extremist and banned it).

Serbia applied for EU membership in 2009 and received candidate status three years later. By comparison, Ukraine applied for membership in 2022 and received candidate status the same year. Brussels attributed such a record-breaking timeframe to the Russian military operation in Ukraine.

By Khagan Isayev