FLASH
Shkruar nga Federico Giuliani
Serbia may soon find itself at a crossroads: continue on the European path or return to the BRICS alternative?
At first there were Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Since last January, five more members have been added to the BRICS group: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Several other nations are interested in taking the same step. From Mexico to Bangladesh, from Nicaragua to Algeria, from Nigeria to Turkey, the list seems particularly extensive.
However, in recent days, Serbia has been in the center of attention. Theoretically, according to the words of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Belgrade needs a European path and membership in the BRICS organization of countries would not currently be a possible option.
At the same time, Vucic himself has been invited to attend the group's summit, which will be held in Kazan, Russia, next October, saying he would appreciate the opportunity to go. This, of course, does not mean that Serbia will take the big step. However, it is possible that, between now and the next few years, the Balkan nation could seriously consider the BRICS option. Especially if tensions with Brussels were to increase.
Serbia and flirting with Capricorns
"The Brics organization, although attractive to the Serbian people, is not a possible option at this moment, even if things in the world change much faster than we think," said Vucic during a recent interview.
The two right-wing opposition parties in Serbia, Dveri and Zavetnici, have repeatedly called for Serbia to join the organization, as has Vojislav Seselj's Serbian Radical Party (SRS). We also recall that Belgrade is a candidate for membership in the European Union and that Vucic is unlikely to push for a hypothetical split with Brussels in a period in which doubts outweigh certainties.
The feeling is that Serbia may soon find itself at a crossroads: continue on the European path or return to the BRICS alternative? It is reasonable to assume that the Serbian leader will want to prepare for that moment. Aware of the consequences of every choice.
The thorn in the side of the EU
However, Serbia remains a thorn in the side of the European Union. First of all because, since the war broke out in Ukraine, the Balkan country continues to navigate a kind of disconnect that irritates Brussels (also on the economic sanctions front). And then, another not negligible aspect, due to its increasingly intense ties with China and Russia.
As for Moscow, in May 2022 the Serbian government signed a three-year agreement with Vladimir Putin for the purchase of Russian gas on favorable terms, while recently, and in the military context, Serbia received the anti-resistance system from the Russian drone.
Beijing, on the other hand, has invested large sums of money in Serbian territory for years.
Well, the EU has always found these reports disturbing. If only out of fear that Belgrade could turn into some kind of beaten enemy in a very volatile region; would be a big problem, given that Viktor Orbán's Hungary is already giving Brussels nightmares. If, then, Vucic really focused on BRICS, at that point the rift between Serbia and Europe would be real and, perhaps, irreversible. /Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Inside Over"
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