Serbian president denounces EU ‘rule by email’

The European Union’s demands that Serbia adjust its foreign policy to align with Brussels amount to an attempt to govern the country “by email,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said during his state visit to China.

Vucic, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, was asked at a press conference about a recent Bloomberg report claiming that Belgrade risked crossing a red line set by the EU by embracing Chinese military technology for its armed forces.

“First they banned me from talking with the Russian Federation,” he replied. “Now they ban me from going to China, too. They might as well pen a wish list detailing who I can and cannot meet.”

Brussels’ approach to Serbia, an EU candidate country, leaves little room for its own government to make decisions, Vucic said.

EU leaders would apparently prefer that Belgrade obey “any fax or email coming from some center of power,” he added, insisting that Serbia is a sovereign state and will determine its own policies.

The EU has been pressuring Serbia, a historic ally of Russia, to impose sanctions on Moscow and support Kiev if it hopes to join the bloc. The president sarcastically thanked Bloomberg for warning him that further investment in advanced Chinese weapons could further undermine Serbia’s accession prospects.

Vucic also criticized EU members for shifting from advocating free trade a decade ago to promoting protectionist measures aimed at weakening Chinese competition.

Serbia accuses EU of double standards

In a column published by Fox News last week, Vucic said Brussels is using pressure tactics to damage Serbia’s ties with the US.

“Elites across the Atlantic have spent years vilifying [US President Donald] Trump,” he wrote, while Serbians view him as “a leader who values national sovereignty over faceless bureaucracy, who prioritizes economic reality over ideological fantasy, and who understands that a nation is defined by its culture, faith, traditions, and heritage.”

According to Serbian parliament speaker Ana Brnabic, Belgrade sees the EU’s demands as unfair. Brussels has effectively frozen Serbia’s integration process since 2021, despite its own inspectors repeatedly confirming that the country is ready to move forward, she told Politico last Thursday.

“The whole world came to be very simplistic, black and white,” Brnabic said, arguing that Serbia is being held to a double standard.

“We saw, for example, tear gas and water cannons used against protesters in Albania – but no one said a word. And why is that? In my view because Albania has aligned 100%” with the EU’s foreign policy goals.

No snap election plans

Vucic traveled to China after the latest round of anti-government protests in Belgrade led to sporadic clashes with police on Saturday.

The demonstration is part of a protest movement that began after the 2024 railway station disaster in Novi Sad, which left 16 people dead. The Serbian government claims the unrest is being incited by Brussels as part of a pressure campaign.

Vucic has rejected claims that hundreds of thousands of people took part in the protest, citing a law enforcement estimate that put attendance at fewer than 34,000.

The president also dismissed calls for early resignation, saying he intends to serve until his second term ends next year. Vucic is constitutionally barred from seeking another presidential term, but could potentially run for prime minister in the future.