Von der Leyen: Serbia can count on EU support on path to membership

BRUSSELS - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday evening her meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels had addressed Serbia's progress on the EU path and that Serbia could count on EU support on that path.

In a post on X after the meeting with Vucic, von der Leyen wrote that they had discussed "the importance of accelerating reforms, in particular in the areas of rule of law and media freedom."

"We stressed that enlargement is a geostrategic imperative and the need for Serbia to further align with the EU’s foreign and security policy.

We also welcomed Serbia’s steps to diversify its energy sources and routes and to reduce dependency on Russia, whose unreliability has been repeatedly demonstrated.

Europe has consistently shown solidarity with Serbia through major investments in energy infrastructure and support to vulnerable households," she posted.

As European Council President Antonio Costa and I underlined during our visits earlier this year, we remain fully committed to seeing a democratic Serbia in the EU. You can count on our support," von der Leyen concluded.