Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told the European Union Ambassador to Belgrade Andreas von Beckerath that his mandate will end soon, and until then he will try to make a good impression on the European community, including with the language he uses, Serbian media reported, quoted by BTA.
"You won't believe how many times I've bitten my tongue now, so as not to say some things, and I'm trying, and I promised that I would only speak well of the EU, and I'll hold back and count to 500, to leave a slightly more favorable impression. "But you in the European Union don't have to worry too much, my mandate will end soon, so there will certainly be someone much more charming, someone much nicer, who knows how to speak in a nice way and who knows how to use a nicer narrative than me," Vučić said during a joint press conference with von Beckerath, who handed him a copy of the EC's annual report on Serbia's progress on its path to EU membership.
Vučić rejected Andreas von Beckerath's description of the report as a "mirror" of the state of Serbia and said that the document represents only one opinion.
In September, Vučić rudely confronted MEPs who attended one of the latest anti-government protests in Serbia, who complained that they felt offended by the epithets "lowest and lowest European scum" used by the Serbian president in their address.
Due to allegations of police violence during the protests, as well as the case of labeling MEPs, the European People's Party began a discussion on the status of an associate member in the largest European family of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, founded by Aleksandar Vučić.
Mass protests, led by students, began in Serbia a year ago after the canopy of the recently renovated Novi Sad train station collapsed, killing 16 people and seriously injuring one. Protesters blame corruption and negligence for the tragedy. Their demands for a transparent investigation into the tragedy and accountability have evolved into calls for early elections. Clashes broke out in the summer between police and protesters, who accuse the police of brutality and excessive use of force.