Đurić: Spajić's statement confirms Vučić's thesis that EU enlargement only succeeds if the entire region develops together

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić said today that the statement by Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić that his country will (until) wait for Serbia in the European Union (EU) only confirms "the thesis of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić that EU enlargement succeeds only if equal cooperation strengthens and if the entire region develops together."

In a post on the Iks website, regarding Spajić's statement that Montenegro will wait for Serbia to join the EU as a member from 2028, Đurić stated that it is good to have ambitions, but that it is better for everyone in the region when they lobby for each other, both publicly and privately, and not against each other.

"With all due respect, the willingness of some politicians in the region to show that they are renouncing their relatives and neighbors will not speed up anyone's path to the EU. We are at our best when we support each other, not when we compare ourselves," Đurić added.

The Prime Minister of Montenegro said earlier today that Podgorica will welcome other candidates from the region as a full member of the EU in 2028.

"I agree that the EU should be the final destination for the entire Western Balkans. However, we will be waiting for you there from 2028 and we encourage you to really hurry up and accelerate the other candidates from the region," Spajić wrote on the Iks network, reacting to a statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

Spajić spoke out after Vučić said that he would propose to European Union leaders that they accept the entire Western Balkans into the EU together.