EU must rethink policy giving Serbian president free rein, expert says

The European Union must re-evaluate its policy toward Serbia, which grants President Aleksandar Vučić excessive leeway, according to Balkan expert Alexander Rotert. Writing for the German news network RND, Rotert argues that Brussels' approach ignores Serbia's growing ties with Russia and China, despite increasingly provocative statements from Serbian officials.

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Why? Because it sees Vučić as a guarantor of stability in the Balkans, and Serbia, the largest country in the Western Balkans, as 'too big to fail'.

Rotert points to recent praise for convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić by Serbian President Vučić, Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, and Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Šapić. He notes the European Commission's silence on these remarks, attributing it to viewing Vučić as a guarantor of Balkan stability and Serbia as "too big to fail."

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gives Vučić a 'carte blanche' to act increasingly extremely on the domestic and foreign policy level, provided he does not start a direct military aggression against neighbors.

This strategy, Rotert contends, effectively gives Vučić a "carte blanche" to pursue more extreme domestic and foreign policies, as long as direct military aggression against neighbors is avoided. While the EU offers billions in aid and fast-tracked negotiations to bind Serbia closer, Rotert observes that Belgrade readily accepts EU assistance while simultaneously drifting towards Moscow and Beijing, fostering close intelligence ties with Russia and economic links with China.

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Belgrade gladly accepts aid from the EU, but at the same time is increasingly sliding towards Moscow, and especially Beijing.

Even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent visit to Belgrade did not alter Serbia's refusal to join EU sanctions against Russia, a key membership criterion. Rotert cites Balkan expert Viktor Meier, who 25 years ago termed Brussels' and Berlin's passive approach towards Belgrade as "Serbcentrism." Rotert concludes that this outdated policy, which assigns Serbia a leading role in the Balkans without proper scrutiny, is an anachronism that requires serious reconsideration. Ignoring the increasing warning signals, he warns, would be a grave oversight.

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Brussels' 'laissez-faire' approach to Belgrade, Balkan expert Viktor Meier called Serbcentrism 25 years ago.