Vučić says lack of EU consensus on opening new chapters with Serbia was expected

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Wednesday that the lack of consensus among European Union member states on opening Cluster 3 in accession negotiations with Serbia was expected.

“We should be more concerned about which road or railway to open, not which group. There is no need to worry too much, everything is roughly as expected,” he said during an interview on the daily news program of Radio Television of Serbia on Wednesday evening.

Radio Free Europe (RFE) has learned that at the meeting of EU ambassadors, at least eight member states clearly and without any reservations spoke out against opening this group of chapters.

As reasons, they cited shortcomings in the area of the rule of law, Serbia’s refusal to align itself with EU sanctions against Russia, as well as a lack of sufficient commitment to the European integration process.

According to the same sources, several other states did not openly oppose the opening of Cluster 3, but assessed that the conditions for such a step have still not been created.

They also expressed concerns about the rule of law, the failure to impose sanctions on Russia, and the state of media freedom in Serbia.

The possibility of opening Cluster 3 in accession negotiations with Serbia was on the agenda at the meeting of EU member states’ ambassadors after the European Commission recommended in writing that Serbia be allowed to open this cluster during July.

However, after a discussion that, according to RFE diplomatic sources, lasted much longer than planned, the chair of the meeting concluded that EU member states had not reached a consensus on opening Cluster 3 with Serbia.

Meanwhile, speaking about the participation of Information and Telecommunications Minister Boris Bratina as a government envoy at the funeral of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Vučić said it was “his decision, because Iran did not recognize Kosovo.”

At the funeral ceremony for the Iranian leader, who was killed on the first day of the American-Israeli war against Iran, on February 28, Serbia had its representative alongside Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other countries.

Vučić also said that Serbia will not change its policy toward Moscow and Kyiv in the coming period and that it will continue its good relations with both countries.

The Serbian leader also announced that the decision to call new elections in Serbia will be made in August or September.

“The elections will most likely be held in October or November, most likely parliamentary first, then presidential,” Vučić said./RFE