Thewesternbalkans.
According to some press documents and different media, on 10-th of December 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Antonio Costa met with Serbian President Alexander Vučić in Brussels. After the meeting they said that they remain fully committed to seeing a democratic Serbia in the European Union (EU).
Von der Leyen and Costa said in a post on X that they discussed with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić the importance of accelerating reforms, in particular in the areas of rule of law and media freedom.
“We stressed that enlargement is a geostrategic imperative and the need for Serbia to further align with the EU’s foreign and security policy. We also welcomed Serbia’s steps to diversify its energy sources and routes and to reduce dependency on Russia, whose unreliability has been repeatedly demonstrated,” the EU top officials wrote.
Following a working dinner hosted by von der Leyen, the two EU leaders added that it was “good to meet together with Vučić to take stock of Serbia’s progress on its EU path.”
“Europe has consistently shown solidarity with Serbia through major investments in energy infrastructure and support to vulnerable households. As we underlined during our visits earlier this year, we remain fully committed to seeing a democratic Serbia in the EU. You can count on our support,” the EU leaders added.
After the dinner, Vučić told reporters that he was “genuinely satisfied with the course, manner and tone of the talks, especially regarding the energy situation.”
“It was a pleasant conversation we had a substantive discussion. We have known each other for a long time and understand each other very well, even when we disagree. We talked in great detail about where, how much and in what way we can import oil derivatives, from Bulgaria and Romania, where to build new gas and oil pipelines, we went into the smallest details. I’m not as worried about gas supplies as I am about oil, we looked for solutions, and I believe we will have the EU’s support on these vital issues,” Vučić told Serbian media.
“It’s not easy for us even today, and it will only get harder with each coming day. It’s already been more than 60 days since we last received a single drop of oil for our refinery. The only question is when the warning will arrive for the Central Bank and all the banks, and that’s when the real problems begin,” Vučić said.
Speaking about opening Cluster 3, he said he had nothing new to report.
He also said he presented von der Leyen and Costa his proposal for the entire Western Balkans to join the EU together as a package. He added that they “listened to me like polite people” and “didn’t say anything on that particular issue.”
Comments: The meeting was being held in the context of preparations for the annual EU–Western Balkans summit, scheduled for 17 December in Brussels. This was the second meeting this year in Brussels between Vučić on one side and von der Leyen and Costa on the other. The previous one was held in March. Costa visited Serbia in May, and von der Leyen in October, both as part of a regional tour.
Four meetings (including two official dinners in Brussels) at the highest level between EU leaders and the Serbian president demonstrate the EU’s great interest in Serbia. It can also be interpreted as direct support for Vučić from these same leaders. Apparently, their analysis shows that at the moment Vučić is an unavoidable factor in Serbia.
To what extent this will manage to tip the scales in favour of the EU given Serbia’s multi-vector foreign policy remains to be seen. At first glance, it seems unlikely.
To comment the Serbian president proposal for entire Western Balkans to join the EU together as a package it seems to be not very serious.
