Orbán hasn't done that because of Serbia

Orbán hasn't done that because of Serbia

"Viktator", as some media call him, a bad politician who angers Europe with his attitudes towards LGBT and migrants, paid for an ad in the Croatian Vecernji list entitled "On the future of the European Union". In it, he listed seven proposals that would improve the EU, and the last one concerns, no less and no more, Serbia.

"Serbia should be granted accession to the European Union," it was written in Orbán's announcement.

Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted immediately, with a clear message that it does not share the views from this advertisement.

"As for the EU enlargement process, Croatia insists on enlargement based on consistent fulfillment of membership criteria, implementation of necessary reforms and achieving measurable results. This applies to all candidate countries for membership, including Serbia," Croatian MFA says, as Blic reports.

This announcement caught everyone's eye because it is a kind of precedent, so far it has not been noticed that any EU prime minister publishes the announcement, especially in another EU country. In addition, the question arises, where is Serbia in all this? And, more importantly, what interest does Orbán have that Belgrade deserved so much attention from him?

Serbia has good relations with Hungary, which is reflected in the fact that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and Viktor Orbán met as many as eight times from May to August last year. Orbán can appeal to the EU to accept Serbia whenever he can, but the question is how much it helps, having in mind his status in Brussels.

Orbán made an unusual move after the EU summit, at a dinner that, according to the media, lasted until two in the morning, and at which there was even talk of expelling Hungary from the EU and publicly expressed wishes to "bring Hungary to its knees".

For the umpteenth time, Orbán infuriated Brussels with a law that banned the spread of homosexuality among minors, which the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, immediately called shameful.

Timothy Less, the leader of the "European Disintegration Studies" project of the Center for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, reminds "Blic" of that, adding that Orbán is looking for allies with this ad. "The reason for the full-page advertisement is Hungary's problematic relationship with the EU, which has reached a crisis point in recent days. The Dutch prime minister suggested that Hungary should be expelled from the EU. Orbán clearly feels pressure and responded by asking ordinary Europeans for support in returning to the EU's founding principles - a club of self-governing nation-states that cooperate for the common good, and not quasi-states with one, approved ideology", Less notes.

He adds that the seventh point is unusual, but that it probably reflects Hungary's sincere belief that Serbia should become a member of the EU. "He wants Serbia to be stable in order to avoid a potential spillover of instability to Hungary and for Serbia to be prosperous, so that Hungarian investors can benefit from economic opportunities. He would like to integrate the Hungarian minority of Serbia with Hungary through joint EU membership," Less said.

Less further reminds that Orbán is also on good terms with Vučić, who sees Hungary as an advocate of Serbia's membership in the EU.

'Jutarnji list' also offered its perception to the publication of this advertisement, and assessed that with this announcement, Orbán addresses conservatives throughout the EU, who, like him, are inclined to theories that Europe is endangered by "liberal forces".

Political analysts Djordje Vukadinovic share similar opinion, saying for Blic that Orbán's move is an unusual act, but not a request concerning Serbia.

"With it, he wants to ask Croatian public opinion for attention, with criticism of Brussels, EU bureaucracy and advocacy for stronger integration. I would say that he is not very lonely in these aspirations and that he is knocking on the open door because the public opinion of many countries is similar and he has the support of the leadership of Poland, Slovenia and maybe even Slovakia", Vukadinović points out.

He also sees the mention of Serbia in that context, because with Belgrade's entry into the EU, Hungary would get an ally. "And that is an ally in favor of a decentralized and less liberal EU. But this is also a gesture towards Vučić with whom he has good relations, presenting him as a 'European conservative', which in my opinion is an undeserved compliment", Vukadinović concludes.