The Vice President of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), Marinika Tepić, stated that while EU candidate countries continue to move forward toward membership, Serbia is pursuing a policy of isolation from the continent it belongs to.
“A normal person would be alarmed by how much this resembles the 1990s. Aleksandar Vučić is even using the same rhetoric as Slobodan Milošević during the period when sanctions were imposed on Serbia—claiming that a global crisis is our opportunity, that the existing order is collapsing, that a new balance of power will benefit Serbia, and that sanctions and wars are a ‘sacrifice’ that will eventually pay off,” Tepić said in a statement.
She noted that Moldova and Ukraine have entered the EU roaming zone, while Montenegro and Albania are expected to join the European Union within the next two to three years. In contrast, Tepić argued that Serbia today would not even qualify for EU candidate status if the decision were based on levels of corruption, organized crime linked to the government, a weakened democracy, the collapse of the rule of law, and the lack of media and electoral freedoms.
According to Tepić, this does not pose a problem for Vučić, because he does not genuinely want Serbia in Europe. She added that this stance is disguised through claims of maintaining good relations with all sides, while ignoring the reality that it is impossible to remain equally aligned with parties that are at war with one another.
The SSP Vice President stressed that Serbia must not enter a new phase of isolation, conflict, and sanctions, but instead must pursue EU membership, the rule of law, and a normal life for its citizens.
“The majority of Serbian citizens understand this clearly, and so does Europe. That is why 2026 will be a year of change—one that nothing can stop,” Tepić concluded.
