French President Emmanuel Macron is due to arrive in Belgrade on Thursday as part of efforts to further cement relations between France and Serbia and thus bring Serbia and the entire Balkan region closer to the Western camp. This visit has come at a time when Serbia, which is a candidate for a member of the European Union, is in the process of balancing between Europe and Eurasia, especially through relations with Russia and China.
On the two-day trip, Macron and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will cover several areas of cooperation, namely defense, energy, and the promotion of artificial intelligence. This is Macron’s second meeting with this Balkan leader this year, and after the visit of China’s President Xi Jinping to Belgrade in May, meaning Serbia has become the bridge between East and West.
In the op-ed published in Serbia’s pro-government Politika daily, Macron said Serbia could remain sovereign only if it was under the EU’s patronage while warning against the mirage of Serbia as a geopolitical broker in Europe as long as there was conflict in the continent.
Vucic has recently pointed out some controversies regarding the deal regarding the Rafale aircraft, whose estimated cost is about €3 billion; however, he underscored that the concerns are not the costs of the aircraft but certain guarantees of the transaction.
Serbia has since cut some of its military ties with Russia in the wake of the Ukraine invasion and also expressed non-support to the aggression, but does not sever itself from Moscow like EU countries do, through sanctions. The country still relies on Russian gas supplies and is still in a state against the secession of Kosovo in 2008.
During the visit, Macron and Vucic will discuss energy and artificial intelligence. Several projects may still be signed. Still, Serbia needs political, administrative, and legal reforms to adopt a European-style democracy and strong rule of law, operate within the bloc, and impose sanctions on Russia.
