Serbian politician Aleksandar Vulin, a former senior official and close ally of President Aleksandar Vučić, said on Wednesday it was time for Serbia to redefine its national policy and hold a binding referendum on its strategic direction.
Vulin, who heads the Socialist Movement party and sits in the Senate of Bosnia’s Serb entity, Republika Srpska, wrote in an opinion piece for Večernje Novosti that Serbia’s citizens should be asked a clear question: “European Union or the Serbian World.”
He argued that EU integration is “in direct conflict with the idea of unifying Serbs,” claiming that Serbia’s decisions in recent years were largely dictated by its EU accession process. Such a fundamental shift, he said, should not result from elections or party platforms but from an explicit mandate given by a majority in a nationwide referendum.
“For the first time, Serbian citizens must clearly state whether they see their future in the European Union or in the concept of the so-called ‘Serbian World’ and other forms of integration,” Vulin wrote.
The concept of the “Serbian World,” which critics describe as a nationalist vision aimed at uniting Serb-populated areas in the region, has drawn criticism from neighbouring countries and Western diplomats.