Vučić and Varhelji on the report: I accepted the blame and am ready for the consequences

It is always good to see the report of the European Commission, to see political things, in the economy we are better than most of their countries, in a year we are among the best in Europe. There are good things, everything has advanced, there are special criticisms of me. “I used the role of president and won votes for the party list, I will respond when the time comes, I accepted the blame and said I was ready to bear the consequences,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said after a meeting with the commissioner. European for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelji.

As Vučić said, it was his fault that he proposed the introduction of the curfew, that relations with Russia and China were intensified, and he bought the Pancir system. He added that they spoke of all that are our shortcomings, their omissions and “that he will be ready to respond to his people.”

“There is a long list of my grave sins, I accept them. I insist on cooperation with Russia and China, I said that no one touches the protesters until they take over an institution, they do not have to write that, I will accept it immediately. And now I will. I will buy more drones from a troubled country, “added Vučić.

According to the president, the report claims that stricter measures have led to mass demonstrations in various Serbian cities, due to the dissatisfaction of citizens with the work of the Serbian Government and measures to suppress the epidemic.

“Regarding the pandemic, I am proud of the work of state agencies and the work of doctors and medical personnel. People’s lives were the most difficult for us, much more important than whether or not someone likes me.” Vucic said.

According to him, he was not guided by selfish personal political interests, but by the struggle for life.

“I also thought I had the right to say what I think about the situation with the corona virus, now I have seen that it is not always desirable,” said Vucic.

The president said that the report continues with the statement that several clashes broke out between the police and some protesters, and that public order and peace must be guaranteed.

“Nowhere is it said that the police used the first baton, the police used force first and in certain cases the army did not use anything until the protesters occupied the Assembly building. Of course, that is not in the report”.

The report states that the use of force must be measured and proportional, and the president stated that he “assumes that it was not.”

At the conference, the president showed the 2008 European Commission Report and said that the report does not mention the murder of Ranko Panić and does not mention the ban on freedom of movement for the largest opposition party.

He said that he agreed with most of the things they stated in the report, just that they evaluated some actions differently.

The president said the region will receive around eight billion euros in EU grants and another 20 billion euros through various projects.

“An important project is to create an Internet network for our villages, to have computers in all rural schools. We are in a hurry to build as many roads and railways, I think we will have even greater support from the EU. We are grateful to them for what that they have determined for Nis-Merdare, they gave us 40.3 million euros and I hope that we will have that support for other types of railways and roads, and I hope that we can count on the construction of the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway and the Belgrade-Sarajevo railway as well as the Belgrade-Sarajevo railway. “Zagreb, that is, Belgrade-Sid. These are fantastic things that we are doing with the EU, “says Vucic.

The president said we look forward to every euro that comes to the region.

“I mentioned a project directed against Serbia, the commissioner listened to what we have to say. It is good that when the neighbors get the money, I hope that we achieve a greater closeness with them. I am very satisfied with the talks and cooperation with the EU,” added. Vucic.

The European Commissioner has indicated that the economic-investor plan has a value of nine billion euros in non-reimbursable grants and that financial guarantees will be provided with international financial partners.

“I would focus on something that we work on over the summer, and these are projects that will create jobs, economic growth and an investment climate, to attract strong investment. When we look at the Western Balkans, we see some obstacles, lack of infrastructure leads to we do not have trade routes, we need to establish it, we need railways, roads, also a green economy The region can only grow as a whole, we need connections between all capitals, investments will be worth nothing if trucks have to stop at each border ” That is why we have made a plan for everyone in the region to participate in its organization, “said Varhelji.

As you said, the EC report was also discussed.

“We have seen that progress has been made, but more needs to be done, we encourage the formation of a government to support reforms, because reforms must go hand in hand with investment. We attach great importance to the rule of law and we must act with quickly when “We are forming a government and we are ready to work to achieve all the goals, so that we can open new chapters. It is important to move forward, we have a new beginning, and with the plan we can accelerate the economy and the entire process, “he said.

Commenting on the visit to Kosovo, Varhelji said that he is not conducting a dialogue, but only providing support.

“I am here to help Lajcak and Borelj and what I see is progress, but much more needs to be covered and under Lajcak’s leadership we can get results. If you compare the key elements, you will see a lot of overlap between the economic plan and the agreement in Washington. “. “I didn’t think we could solve the problem on our own and I’m trying to create a synergy,” Varhelji said.