site.btaSerbian President Vucic Says He Won't Attend EU - Western Balkans Summit

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will not attend the EU–Western Balkans summit, which begins Wednesday in Brussels, Serbian media reported. 

“For the first time in the past 13 or 14 years, neither I nor anyone else will go to this intergovernmental conference. No one will represent the Republic of Serbia, so the Western Balkans will be without the Republic of Serbia,” Vucic told Serbia’s national broadcaster RTS Tuesday night. 

He said he had spoken with a large number of European leaders over the past 24 hours. 

“I am infinitely grateful for the respect shown to Serbia by (European Commission President) Ursula von der Leyen and (European Council President) Antonio Costa. I am also grateful to President (of France) Emmanuel Macron, whom I spoke with on Tuesday evening. I believe that everything I do, I do for the citizens of Serbia,” the Serbian head of state said, adding that he knows his decision will provoke criticism. 

Vucic reiterated that Serbia will continue on its European path as long as he is at the helm of the presidential institution, and afterward, as he put it, “we will see.” 

Vucic’s mandate, his second consecutive term, expires in 2027, and under the Serbian constitution he is not entitled to run for president again.