site.btaSerbian President: EU Undoubtedly Supports Belgrade University Rector More than Head of State

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated that there is no doubt that the EU supports the University of Belgrade Rector, Prof. Vladan Dokic, who recently announced that he would be willing to run for president. “Everyone who wants a less independent Serbia or one more dependent on their views will support Dokic or someone else over me. I am too stubborn, too Serbian, and love Serbia too much to be liked by the powerful,” Vucic said in Paracin on Wednesday, according to local media.

When asked about the meeting between Dokic and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, Vucic said that Dokic had had many meetings, on several occasions, at a higher level than Kos, but this had not been discussed publicly, “because why would anyone meet with a university rector?”

“We cannot have support from those who lobby for an independent Kosovo, from those who accuse Serbia of genocide, and among them is [Italian MEP from Renew Europe] Sandro Gozi, that thief,” said Vucic.

In his statements, Vucic claims that for people like Gozi, the only thing that matters is “getting their hands on funds and money,” and accuses them of being paid lobbyists for the independence of the former Serbian province of Kosovo, which Serbia has refused to recognize for 18 years. 

Gozi is one of Vucic’s sharpest critics in the European Parliament, having repeatedly stated that elections in Serbia (especially those in December 2023) are marred by fraud and abuse of power. Gozi recently invited Vucic to a televised debate on the regional TV channel N1 on the topic of Serbia’s EU integration, at a time when the European Commission is considering whether to suspend funding for the country on the grounds that it is not implementing the necessary reforms.

On Wednesday, Vucic said that Prof. Dokic has support within the EU and that this is evident, but the Serbian President emphasized that he is interested in the support of the people of Serbia, not in support “in other countries and in other offices.”

Dokic announced his willingness to run for president following a protest in Belgrade in late March in defence of academic freedom, organized by students and lecturers in response to the way police conducted a search at the University of Belgrade and in the Rector’s office as part of an investigation into the March 26 death of a student.