Despite ruffling feathers in Brussels, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić doubled down this week on his country’s commitment to joining the European Union—just days after showing up in Moscow for Russia’s WWII Victory Day celebrations.
On May 13, European Council President António Costa stood beside Vučić at a press conference, underscoring that Serbia, an EU candidate since 2012, remains on the path to membership. Still, Costa didn’t mince words: “We can’t commemorate the liberation from fascism 80 years ago and turn a blind eye to today’s invasion of Ukraine,” he said, pointing squarely at Serbia’s refusal to align with EU sanctions against Russia.
Vučić, undeterred by the criticism, reaffirmed Belgrade’s western aspirations: “Serbia today and Serbia tomorrow is on the European path. I accept the criticisms. Our path, our will, is Europe,” he stated firmly.
But not everyone took the EU’s disapproval so politely. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, the only EU leader to attend the Moscow festivities, had a blunt response for Brussels: “I’m the legitimate Prime Minister of Slovakia—a sovereign country. No one tells me where I can or cannot go.”
With Serbia walking a geopolitical tightrope—courting both Moscow and Brussels—the EU’s enlargement dreams are once again caught between East and West.
