Balkan expert Florian Bieber has responded with irony to Serbia’s Foreign Minister Marko Đurić. After a meeting with representatives of the Italian Institute of International Affairs, Đurić stated that Serbia’s EU membership would mean a “stable strategic connection.”
“This is a commitment to a lasting friendship, partnership, and a common approach to global issues. For my country, joining a group of more than 400 million people from a nation of 7 million means getting ready to take an equal place in the European family of nations and to face global challenges together,” Đurić said after the meeting.
The mention of “7 million people” particularly caught the attention of political scientist and professor at the University of Graz, Florian Bieber.
“I’m glad he’s not including the population of Kosovo in the number of Serbia’s citizens. Jokes aside, it’s a shame he was welcomed at institutions like the Institute of International Affairs, while he and his government attack critics (including me) and don’t provide space for them within the country,” Bieber wrote on X.
The Institute of International Affairs (Istituto Affari Internazionali – IAI) is a prestigious Italian institute, a non-profit organization founded in 1965, and is ranked among the top 20 global think tanks for foreign policy and international relations.
