Serbian President Vučić proposed integrating the Western Balkans countries into the EU single market and the Schengen area until full membership

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the candidate countries are tired of the delay in EU enlargement.

Vučić proposed to admit the Western Balkans countries into the EU single market and the Schengen zone before granting full membership in the union.

Serbia received EU candidate status in 2012 and began accession negotiations in 2014, with citizens expecting a clearer outlook and tangible results.

UN, September 23 – RIA Novosti. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić at the UN General Assembly expressed the fatigue of candidate countries from the delay in EU expansion and again proposed to admit the Western Balkan countries into the EU single market and the Schengen area before granting full membership in the union.

“Serbia is on the European path and will have to do a lot more to become a full member of the EU. We are grateful to the EU, first of all, to the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Council António Costa for all the help they have provided to our country. Full membership of the EU remains our strategic priority, but we cannot ignore the lingering enlargement fatigue among the union members and candidate countries,” - Vucic said.

He recalled that Serbia received EU candidate status in 2012 and began accession negotiations in 2014, so “citizens expect a clearer perspective and tangible results from a process in which they have been participating for over 10 years.” According to him, the next steps towards EU enlargement do not seem likely in the near future, but Serbia offers practical ways to overcome the current situation.

“We proposed that the countries of the Western Balkans be integrated into the EU single market and gain access to the Schengen area before receiving full EU membership. This will not serve as a replacement for membership or a reduction in our ambitions,” the Serbian President emphasized.

Vučić said on June 30 following a meeting with ambassadors of EU member states that his country continues to follow the path to EU membership and carry out relevant reforms.