Sixth Consecutive Year: Von der Leyen Comes to Skopje, Serbia Stays Off the List
Đilas: the EU doesn't want its Belgrade presence used as a photo for Vučić. Vučić: an "elegant excuse."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Tirana, Pristina, Podgorica and Skopje from 30 September to 2 October — her sixth consecutive year touring the region. Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are not on the list, officially because of upcoming elections in both countries.
Serbian Freedom and Justice Party leader Dragan Đilas interprets the exclusion differently: that EU institutions don't want their presence in Belgrade used in the election campaign as "a photo supporting Aleksandar Vučić." The decision comes after the state-honours funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić, over which von der Leyen previously said publicly she was "shocked by the images."
President Vučić, commenting on the decision, said Brussels had found an "elegant excuse" — an interpretation the Commission officially rejects, insisting the sole reason is the elections.
For Skopje, the visit arrives with the same message von der Leyen delivered on her last visit, in October 2025: that the constitutional amendment is the next step before the first negotiating cluster opens. A detailed agenda for the Skopje meetings has not yet been officially published.
MKNews Hub · World · September 22, 2026