On Friday 2 December, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi called on Serbia to participate in the EU-Western Balkans summit. The day before, Serbian President Alexandar Vučić had announced that “no one from Serbia (would) be in Tirana on 6 December”.
“We need everyone to be engaged. We need Serbia to be at the table, and we need the leader of Serbia to be at the table” for the talks, Várhelyi told a press conference in Belgrade alongside the Serbian president. The Commissioner highlighted that “for the very first time, leaders will come to the region to talk about the region, with the region”.
Mr Várhelyi hoped that the summit would not only allow leaders to discuss strategy and policy, but that there would also be direct benefits for people and the economy. He called for an agreement on the end of roaming charges, “to bring the Western Balkan countries into the European roaming area”.
Mentioning the applications for EU membership made by Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia shortly after the start of the Russian invasion, the Commissioner said that “the war (had) shown that the only real long-term solution for peace, stability and prosperity” is EU membership.
Serbia announced on 1 December that it would not participate in the summit, in reaction to the appointment of Nenad Rašić of the Democratic Progressive Party as a minister in Kosovo in place of Goran Rakić, chairman of the Serb List. Belgrade considers the appointment unconstitutional and called the EU’s reaction “shameful”. Mr Vučić also called the Kosovar Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, “terrorist scum”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)