Macron Dampens Serbia’s Hopes of Rapid EU Membership

French President Emmanuel Macron told a joint press conference held in Belgrade on Monday with his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, that Serbia cannot join the European club until the EU has been reformed.

"The EU with 28 members is even now not functioning and cannot be expanded without reforming itself," Macron said.

The French President said that Serbia should meanwhile stay on its EU course and undertake all necessary reforms, adding that the EU also needs to be ready to accept Serbia.

"The EU should make some decisions so it can function better," Macron noted.

Turning to the dispute between Serbia and its former province of Kosovo - whose independence Serbia does not recognise - Macron announced that he will organize a meeting with high-level representatives of both countries and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"Serbia and Kosovo are European countries and we need to help to translate this into facts," he stated, urging both sides to refrain from unilateral moves.

Serbia's President, Vucic, said that he had informed the French President about the current situation between Serbia and Kosovo and asked him to help Serbia on its EU path.

"It is possible that I never had such an open and honest conversation with an official," Vucic underlined admiringly.

Macron arrived in Serbia on Monday amid fresh tensions between Belgrade and Pristina.

His visit came after the cancellation of a summit in Paris intended to encourage Serbia and Kosovo to restart negotiations that have been deadlocked since Kosovo imposed 100-per-cent import tariffs on Serbian goods last year.

The Serbian and French presidents also discussed political and economic cooperation, signing 22 agreements, including an agreement on the...