Vucic: It is clear Serbia must pay price for its independent policy

BELGRADE - Commenting on an as-yet-unreleased, highly critical European Parliament report on Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday he had not seen the document but that it was clear Serbia had to pay the price for its independent policy.

"We have no problem with paying it. I am ready to take that kind of blows myself and I have no problem with that. I am not even too worried about that," he told reporters.

He said EP reports always contained much criticism.

"It is understandable, I hear it every day - it will mostly be about the failure to impose sanctions on Russia," Vucic said.

"What is important to me is that they will praise the elections in the north of Kosovo-Metohija, which will have a 1 pct turnout, and explain to us that that is what the highest European values are, and I will congratulate them on that," he added ironically.

Vucic added that he was much more interested in the EP's take on the Serbian economy as it, too, had been the subject of "political lectures."

"Even though it lags quite behind the most developed European countries, the Serbian economy is narrowing that gap because it is growing at a higher rate compared to their economies and has a public debt ratio that is lower than the eurozone and the EU averages," Vucic added.