Aleksandar Vucic’s Progressive Party came to power with pledges to lead Serbia into full EU membership. After 14 years of democratic backsliding, he now says he’s willing to settle for ‘second-tier’ status within the bloc.
Sofija Popovic
“Our goal is for Serbia to become a full member of the European Union by 2020, and we will accomplish that task,” Aleksandar Vucic promised in 2014.
This month, Serbia’s President acknowledged that Serbia would be prepared to accept even “second-tier” membership, without the right of veto over the bloc’s decisions.
It was precisely on promises to lead the country into the European Union and to sound the final whistle on corruption and organised crime that Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party first won trust and power in 2012.
Fourteen years later, according to both international and domestic index measuring democratic standards, Serbia is classified as a hybrid regime where corruption is systemic, ties between state structures and organised crime are deepening and the EU integration process is effectively stalled.
Last week, as students were once again beaten by ruling party supporters, the Serbian President spoke about the country’s EU accession. In an interview with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Vucic chose to state, in the name of the entire nation, that Serbia is ready to accept such a model of EU membership.
