Vucic: By working together, candidate countries can make progress on EU path

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday that, for Serbia, there is still no path that could be better and more successful than the European path, and expressed the belief that, by working together, candidate countries were able to achieve much and make progress in the EU accession process.

Addressing a conference of parliament speakers of EU candidate countries, co-hosted in Belgrade by Serbia and Ukraine, Vucic said establishing all kinds of cooperation with other candidate countries was very important for Serbia.

He added that, for him as president of Serbia, Serbia's cooperation with Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine was exceptionally important and that countries must continue to develop bilateral ties and learn from one another on the EU path.

"I believe we can point out the experiences we have had on the European path and learn much from our friends from any of the countries in attendance. I believe that, together, we can achieve much and learn and do much, develop the relations among our states, and not underrate ourselves," Vucic said at the Palace of Serbia.

There is still no free movement of people, goods, capital and services within the region and, for that reason, there can be none with the EU either, Vucic said, noting that he had proposed making the region a part of a single market with open borders, including with the EU.

He added that the region had still not succeeded in freeing itself of all the differences and conflicts from the 1990s and in understanding that mutual respect was much more important than anything else.

In the past 18 years, since signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, Serbia has learned how to live on its own, work, grow faster and make progress, Vucic said.

"We have learned to also compete against those who, according to some rules, should be ahead of us but are no longer ahead of us, and we understood that we can build the economy in collaboration with many other countries. But we still have no path that would be more successful and better than the European path," he said.

He added that no miracles or major EU enlargement should be expected in the coming years, but that, through new proposals by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, "no small amount of things" could be gained provided that things were "put on rational and realistic foundations."

"I think that, always, in every way and everywhere, we can help each other and contribute," Vucic noted.

He thanked Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk for attending the conference.

Vucic noted that he knew the situation in Ukraine was by no means easy and that he hoped it would be resolved through negotiations as soon as possible.

Ukraine has demonstrated not only its resilience, but also that Europe could gain much from it, he said.

"I do not mean militarily, but economically, in terms of human capacities, in many things. As far as Serbia is concerned, when they asked us whether we have something against Ukraine achieving in a shorter period time what we have not been able to achieve, we never said it is a problem for us. Not because we have a need to ingratiate ourselves with you or anyone in Europe, but because we think that, with its capacities, Ukraine can contribute a great deal to further economic progress and further European development," Vucic said.

He noted that Ukraine and other EU candidate countries would always have Serbia's support.

Vucic and Stefanchuk met before the conference to discuss bilateral relations and continued cooperation in the EU integration process, as well as experience-sharing and strengthening of institutional ties.

Vucic: Building good relations with US is important, I expect solution for NIS soon

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday building good relations with the US was important for Serbia and added that he hoped the situation regarding the Serbian oil company NIS and Hungary's MOL would be resolved soon.

Asked by reporters to comment on the fact that his interview for Fox News had been shared by US President Donald Trump on Truth Social, Vucic thanked Trump for sharing it and noted that building good relations with the US was important for Serbia.

"Today, I will also have a meeting with Pastor Mark Burns, his (Trump's) spiritual adviser, and some other American friends. In any case, building good relations with the US is important for us, and we will by trying to make that happen. So, I think that those are very important things for us," Vucic said.

"I also hope that we will soon finish the saga about MOL and NIS. I believe that we will also be able to resolve that with our Russian and Hungarian friends. It is not simple or easy. I cannot tell you where all the problems lie, it is just not alright and you cannot talk about that while negotiations are underway. But people should know it is not simple at all," Vucic said.

Since October 9, 2025, NIS has been under US sanctions due to its Russian-majority ownership. Last week, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) extended an operating licence for NIS for 30 days - until July 31. A licence for MOL-Gazprom neft talks about an acquisition of a Russian majority stake in NIS by MOL was also extended until the same date.