David McAllister, member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and the rapporteur for Serbia, said in Belgrade that Serbia would join the European Union when the country would be ready for it.

At a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, McAllister promised that the support for Serbia’s European path would continue, but stressed that it depended on Serbia’s progress in opening and closing of negotiation chapters.

The Rapporteur said he would like to see new chapters to be opened as soon as possible, but the move depended on EU member countries.

He called on the Serbian authorities to keep up with reforms, especially in the fields of economy, rule of law and fight against corruption. McAllister said he had read the Prime Minister Ana Brnabić’s platform, adding that he was satisfied with Serbia’s progress, which had political support both from the EU member states, European Commission and the European Parliament.

According to McAllister, it is necessary that a dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is led both on a presidential and governmental levels in order to implement what has been agreed so far and also to reach other agreements.

McAllister said the stability in the region is of crucial significance for the whole European continent and, in that sense, welcomed a policy of cooperation with neighbours, led by Vučić.

EU Rapporteur expressed regret for Great Britain move to leave EU, but said he expected Serbia and Montenegro would become 28th and 29th EU member state.

He added that European Union was incomplete without Serbia and stressed that Serbia and Montenegro have currently been leaders in the process of EU accession process.

McAllister said he would visit Serbia again at the end of August.

Vučić: I clearly understood Europe’s objections to Serbia

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said he had cleary understood Europe’s obections to Serbia, but added that Serbia expecteed a clear message from European Union countries that they counted on Serbia and that the Serbian government’s and Serbian people’s wish to become its part was not one-sided.

“We expect clear messages that EU is counting on Serbia and that our wish is not one-sided, neither a plain wish, but also wished by EU member states,” Vučić said at the press conference with European Parliament Rapporteur David McAllister, held in Villa Mir.

Vučić said he had told McAllister again that Serbia wanted to solve conflicts for good, that it has been firmly on the European path and that he had clearly understood all EU objections to Serbia.

“I have clearly understood all and every objections that EU has for Serbia in different domains and chapters, in the rule of law domain, and I explained what we have been doing to change and improve that,” Vučić said.

Vučić said he had talked with McAllister about Serbia’s economic progress, suficit, what Serbia should do in the Euro-integrations domain and internal dialogue on Kosovo that he has launched, which was, as he later added, together with Serbia’s relation with Russia and the rule of law, a key for Serbia’s European path.

Kosovo is a key issue in negotiations with EU

President Vučić said in Belgrade that only Serbia had additional Chapter 35, related to Kosovo in the negotiations with EU that should not be forgotten and that this was the reason why Serbia needs an internal dialogue on Kosovo.

After the talks with European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister, Vučić said the issue of Kosovo was a key issue, and only after it, relations between Serbia and Russia, foreign policy, rule of law, adding that Serbia would have to take the bull by the horns with all these issues.

“If you ask me what gives me the biggest headache from all these rule of law (issues), it is Belgrade-Priština relations. Only Serbia has Chapter 35. No other country had it, and it passes through many chapters, even a transport-related one. People should know that. That is why we need an internal dialogue. There is no progress without it,” Vučić said, adding that it was “healing and important” for the people to know that.

“Serbia is on the European path because we want to belong to that society. We know that we have difficulties other countries did not have, nobody is getting such questions like we do about Kosovo, we know that, it is nothing new. We must not forget that,” said Vučić.

He added that, during the EU accession process, not even transport issues could be discussed without talking about Chapter 35.

“Whether a reason would be that Vučić is crazy or this or that is not good, it is another issue. One can find 500 reasons to make an excuse for something, an essential reason is Kosovo,” Vučić said.

He added that he was just an “ordinary small politician from the Balkans” and that he was not an optimist about a dialogue with Kosovo.

“Contrary to many Albanian politicians, we are ready to talk about compromise, real compromise, and not about how something should sound before Western politicians and what is it that you have to sell to them, and what is (aimed) at internal public,” said Vučić.