Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić has asserted that while “Serbia would benefit on many fronts from EU membership,” it must also “protect its interests in relation to Kosovo and other relationships in the international community.”
In an interview with “TV Prva,” a television channel aligned with the Serbian regime, Đurić stated that Serbia “must enter the EU as a full-fledged member.”
“Our assessment of Serbian interest is that we must enter the European Union as an equal, accepted country, which will have a seat with full voting rights, to decide together with others on the foreign security policy of the European Union, and to participate in the distribution of the financial budget in Brussels, which is not small,” Đurić said. “Just look, Bulgaria has received over 90 billion euros from the common budget of the European Union; Serbia has also received billions in recent years, but 10 times less than it would have received if it were a full member. So, we gain on many fronts from this membership.”
He further added that for Serbia, it is crucial “to protect national interests.”
“We have our specific interests related to Kosovo and with some other relationships in the international community, and we do not want to be losers because we do not answer to some officials or bureaucrats in some distant center; we answer first and foremost to the citizens of Serbia. I believe it is in our interest to be a member of the European Union, I hope we will be; for this, will and energy are needed from both sides,” he claimed.
Recalling that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is participating today in the Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit in Odesa, Đurić said that all these steps are being taken as part of Serbia’s efforts “to improve its position in European political opinion.”
“To open new doors for Serbia, to ensure new investment inflows, to ensure that Serbia’s interest, whether for Kosovo or other topics, is better heard and respected. It does not depend only on us,” Đurić concluded.
