Serbia to skip EU-Western Balkans Summit in Brussels

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that he will not attend the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Brussels, and that Serbia will not send any representative to the intergovernmental conference.

“For the first time in the last 13 or 14 years neither I nor anyone else will go to that intergovernmental conference. No one will represent the Republic of Serbia, so the Western Balkans will be without the Republic of Serbia,” Vucic told Serbian state television, N1 reports.

He explained that the decision was personal, made to ensure that no other officials would face blame or governmental pressure.

Vucic said he had spoken with numerous European leaders in the past 24 hours. “I am truly grateful for the respect shown toward Serbia by Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa. I am also grateful to President Macron, with whom I spoke yesterday evening. I believe that everything I do, I do for the Serbian citizens. Even though I know this decision will draw criticism, both from Brussels and from those who always criticize, even when they don’t know exactly what they are criticizing. By doing this I believe I am protecting the Republic of Serbia and its interests, because we need to show what we have achieved,” he said.

He reaffirmed Serbia’s commitment to the European path, saying, “Serbia will continue on its European path as long as I am president, and after that, we’ll see.”

The EU-Western Balkans Summit is scheduled to take place in Brussels on December 17. Serbia’s absence comes amid concerns over stalled EU integration, particularly in Cluster 3, which covers the judiciary, fundamental rights, and justice sector reforms.

By Vafa Guliyeva