Vucic said the candidate countries are tired of waiting for EU membership
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on September 23 that candidate countries were tired of the protracted process of EU enlargement.
"Serbia is on the European path and will have to do much more to become a full member of the EU. We are grateful to the EU, first of all, to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, for all the assistance they have provided to our country. Full membership in the EU remains our strategic priority, but we cannot ignore the lingering fatigue from enlargement among the union's members and candidate countries," he said, as quoted by "RIA Novosti".
According to the Serbian leader, the next stages of expansion in the near future seem unlikely. Citizens of Serbia, which received candidate status in 2012 and has been negotiating membership for more than 10 years, expect tangible results from the process. As a way out of this situation, Vucic suggested that the European Union accept the Western Balkans region as a single bloc, as well as integrate them into the single European market and the Schengen area even before obtaining the status of full members of the association.
On September 4, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said that the public commemoration of the "Bosnian butcher" Ratko Mladic, convicted of war crimes, could complicate Serbia's relations with the European Union. Kos stressed that for Serbia to join the EU, not only reforms are important, but also foreign policy orientation and strategic alliances in the field of security.
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