Biljana Đorđević, co-president of Serbia’s Green-Left Front (ZLF), said Friday that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s decision to postpone her visit to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina because of upcoming elections was the appropriate decision.
Von der Leyen is scheduled to tour the Western Balkans from September 30 to October 2, visiting Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia. Her visits to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will take place at a later date because of the upcoming elections in both countries, European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta said at a briefing in Brussels.
Commenting on the decision, Đorđević referred to von der Leyen’s visit to Belgrade ahead of Serbia’s 2023 elections.
“Before the 2023 elections, Ursula von der Leyen came to Belgrade immediately before the campaign began. It would be truly scandalous if she came this time at the very end of the campaign,” Đorđević wrote on X.
The European Commission said von der Leyen’s upcoming regional tour will focus on the Western Balkans’ EU accession path and progress toward gradual integration, including projects supported through the EU’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.
During the September 30–October 2 tour, von der Leyen is expected to meet senior government officials and visit EU-funded projects in the countries included in her itinerary.
The decision to postpone the Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina visits comes ahead of elections in both countries, with the Commission saying von der Leyen intends to visit them separately at a later stage.
