BIRN journalist: Serbia is not moving towards EU, with or without Zelenskyy's visit

Speaking to N1, Markovic commented on the three topics announced for talks between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Zelenskyy: economic cooperation, the two countries' paths towards EU membership and energy cooperation.

Markovic noted that these topics had been announced by Vucic and argued that, under Serbia's Constitution, the president does not have authority over much of the stated agenda.

“The fact is that, for the most part, he does not have the authority to discuss the topics that have been announced. He cannot discuss economic cooperation because he does not have that authority under the Constitution, but we have all forgotten that and pretend it is normal,” Markovic said.

“If these are the only three topics, it would mean that there will be one big elephant in the room that nobody will mention – Serbia's relationship with Russia.”

Markovic said he expected the two presidents to discuss other issues in addition to the three topics announced publicly.

He also noted that trade between Serbia and Ukraine amounts to several hundred million euros annually, roughly comparable to Serbia's trade with Albania or North Macedonia, and said there was room to expand economic cooperation.

'We are not moving towards the EU'

Markovic said the key question was what, if anything, would change regarding Serbia's EU accession process following Zelenskyy's visit.

“We are not moving towards the EU, whether Zelenskyy comes or not,” he said.

Markovic said the issue went beyond Zelenskyy's visit and Serbia's progress under EU accession Chapters 23 and 24, pointing in particular to the requirement for candidate countries to align with the bloc's foreign policy.

“There is an EU foreign policy that you have to align with, and that means imposing sanctions on Russia. Here, the authorities say, ‘We won't do that,’ and that is where everything stops. That is the end of the story,” Markovic said.

He also questioned how much Serbia and Ukraine could help each other in their respective efforts to join the EU.

“They are not the ones who decide, or at least not the only ones. It does not depend on them. They can cooperate and develop some forms of joint action, but as far as the ultimate goal is concerned, all of that is secondary,” he said.

“They cannot help each other get into the EU. Each country individually has to meet the conditions. Serbia first has to decide whether it wants to join the EU or not.”