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Macron reaffirms Serbia’s “European destiny” amid tensions with Russia
French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized Serbia’s European future during a phone call with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Sunday, urging Belgrade to move forward with reforms and EU integration, despite its close ties with Russia.
"I reiterated my conviction that Serbia's destiny is European and expressed hope that it can move forward, in a spirit of dialogue, on the path of reforms and accession," Macron wrote on the platform X.
His message comes amid ongoing protests in Serbia, where thousands demonstrated in June calling for early elections. The unrest was sparked by a tragic railway station roof collapse in Novi Sad in November 2024 that killed 16 people—an incident widely blamed on corruption.
President Vucic remains aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has not imposed sanctions on Moscow since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Serbia still relies heavily on Russian gas.
While Serbia is an official EU candidate and maintains strong economic ties with the bloc, it continues to walk a delicate line between Brussels and Moscow.
Macron also reaffirmed France’s support for the “stability, unity, and sovereignty” of Bosnia-Herzegovina and stressed the importance of upholding the rule of law in the region.
Tensions have risen after Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik was sentenced on appeal Friday to one year in prison and six years of ineligibility. He had refused to recognize the authority of Christian Schmidt, the international high representative tasked with overseeing the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords.
Vucic, a vocal supporter of Dodik, denounced the sentence on Saturday, calling it a "historic crisis" for the Balkans.