Vucic Casts Doubt on Rapid EU Enlargement

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic expressed doubts about the European Union's ability to expand rapidly. Speaking at a conference of EU candidate countries, he said neither Serbia nor the other candidates should expect to join the bloc in the coming years.

According to Vucic, the European path remains the best option for the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Even so, he said significant EU enlargement is unlikely in the near future.

Among the Western Balkan countries, only Montenegro hopes to join the EU by 2028. Albania has accelerated its accession negotiations, while Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are lagging behind.

At the conference, Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, called on the European Union to accelerate the enlargement process. He said doing so was also important to counter Russia’s aggressive policies.

Last month, Ukraine began the first phase of accession negotiations with the EU. Diplomats expect the process to be lengthy and complex.

Serbia supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and has condemned the Russian invasion. At the same time, it continues to maintain relations with Moscow, although those ties deteriorated following last year’s Serbian sale of ammunition to Ukraine.

(Reuters, bak)