“Serbia will continue on its path to membership in the European Union (EU), despite the reluctance of the majority of the country’s population to join the EU,” Serbian President Alexander Vucic said in a special address to the nation on Friday.
“We will continue on our way to the EU, although it is unpopular in Serbia, and according to the latest opinion polls for the first time, a majority of citizens are against joining the EU. But our job is not to obey public opinion, but to listen to it. “Serbia will be stronger on the European path,” Vucic said, adding that trade turnover between Serbia and the EU is over 60 per cent, or about 30 billion euros.
Earlier in an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Vucic expressed concern that if a referendum on Serbia’s EU membership were held tomorrow, 44 per cent of citizens would vote against and only 35 per cent would vote in favor. According to him, the reason for such an attitude is that Serbs hear only one thing from the EU: the country must recognize Kosovo as an independent state.
“Many Serbs are fed up with this because they see a completely different approach from Western powers in Ukraine, so they have a sense of double standards.“Vucic explained.
The president expressed hope that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz would support Serbia’s EU accession.
“Serbia faces enormous Western pressure and hypocrisy over Kosovo“Vucic added.
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