Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić refused to answer journalists’ questions about the difficult situation around Kosovo and Metohija and the approval by the political committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the entry of the parliament of the self-proclaimed Kosovo into PACE in the presence of the head of the permanent EU delegation to the construction of a railway section financed by Brussels.
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The Serbian head of state, with members of the government and the head of the permanent EU delegation to Serbia, Emmanuel Jofre, inspects on Thursday the construction of an EU-funded high-speed railway from the city of Nis to the border with Bulgaria on the Pirot-Sukovo section. Journalists asked Vucic about his message on social networks on Wednesday night about his promise to talk within 48 hours about threats to vital interests and “the most difficult upcoming period for Serbia,” as well as the decision of the PACE political committee to approve the entry of the “parliament” of the self-proclaimed Kosovo into the organization.
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“The situation is stable and safe, whether it is difficult, it is very difficult and we will talk about it, but I will not talk about it today. Because it would be dishonest in relation to the people who gave us such money for us to talk about anything else. After all, if I utter even one sentence on this matter, it would become a headline for you, the main topic, and not how much we are building here and doing together with them,” Vucic answered the journalists.
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“Sorry, I didn’t want to be unpleasant and rude today by not answering some other political questions, but I know that no matter what I told you on this issue, it would only be news to you, and this enormous hard work of all these workers, “vital for us. will go unnoticed. Within 48 hours I will address people and answer all those questions, times in the political sense are not easy for us and will be even more difficult,” the Serbian leader said.
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He again thanked the EU representatives for the funds provided and clarified that for the Nis-Dimitrovgrad section, as well as the bypass highway around Nis, Europe is providing about 108 million euros free of charge, “which is incredible money.”
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The EU in February provided Serbia with the first, free tranche of 610 million euros for the construction of a section of the high-speed railway from the capital to the south of the country as part of the financial package for the railway part of the European transport corridor 10. The total volume of the project is 2 billion 775 million euros.
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The Belgrade-Niš high-speed railway, 230 kilometers long, is being built in three sections, funds will be provided by the EIB, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and direct subsidies from the EU, as well as the Serbian budget. The railway is scheduled to be completed by 2029.
