Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić has made clear that his country was saved from the Nazis in 1944-45 by the Soviet Union and that, despite warnings from the European Union that he should not attend, he will, indeed, join the 80th anniversary in Moscow on May 9, celebrating that accomplishment. Yesterday, Guillaume Mercier, spokesman for the EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, stated that the “participation of President Vucic at the military parade in Moscow will impact” Belgrade’s EU accession process and that, the day before, Kos had met with Vucic in Serbia to underline the EU position.
When asked at the press briefing in Brussels what that impact would be, Mercier declined to specify, but said that Kos and others had “passed on the message that was shared by many other EU member states that the participation in Moscow will have an impact on the EU path.” He added: “We warned Serbia that a visit to Moscow could complicate the process of negotiations and preparations for EU accession. We expect Serbia to reaffirm its strategic priorities.”
