European state’s president opens door to BRICS referendum

The group’s popularity has been growing in Serbia, according to the country’s leader Aleksandar Vucic

A referendum on the possibility of joining BRICS could be held in Serbia in light of the economic bloc’s growing popularity in the country, President Aleksandar Vucic has suggested.

Vucic’s comment comes after Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin said earlier this month that instead of EU membership, Serbia would explore the option of joining the BRICS economic group, which is currently chaired by Russia.

In an interview with state broadcaster RTS on Monday, Vucic cited new research as saying that 42% of Serbs are in favor of integration with the EU, while another 42% are supportive of the idea of joining BRICS. This is true “even though people in Serbia do not really know what BRICS means,” Vucic said

“Although no one will like this, that discussion [about EU or BRICS] will be very serious in this country in the next year and a half or two,” he said. “I do not rule out that it will be one of the key topics in the presidential elections in 2027… and it may also be a referendum topic.” 

Vucic noted however, that BRICS would have to make some progress on the issue of setting up a common means of payment.

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“People are fed up with stories about respecting the territorial integrity of Ukraine, while the territorial integrity of Serbia is not respected,” local media quoted Vuvic as saying, concerning Serbia’s potential EU membership.

The Balkan country applied to join the EU in 2009 and has been a candidate since 2012. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has accused Brussels of moving the goalposts for accession, most recently by linking Belgrade’s membership to severing relations with Moscow. 

Despite enormous pressure from Brussels, Belgrade has not joined the US and EU sanctions against Moscow, officially pledging neutrality in the Ukraine conflict and maintaining trade relations with both Russia and the West.

Serbia sent a delegation to the BRICS Summit, which is currently underway in Russia’s Kazan. The delegation is led by Vulin, as well as Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic, Economy Minister Adrijana Mesarovic and Minister Nenad Popovic, who oversees international economic cooperation.

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Vucic, who had been invited to the summit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, told RTS he asked for understanding for not attending the summit in person due to a visit to Serbia by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“I was very honest with President Putin and told him that it was planned in advance, but I did not hide it and told him… that even if it weren’t for these visits, it would be extremely difficult for me to come due to various circumstances that [he is] well aware of,” Vucic said.