Brnabic in Dublin urges new government to keep Expo 2027

Ana Brnabic, Speaker of the National Assembly and acting President of the Republic, represented Serbia on November 12 at the ninth summit of the European Political Community in Dublin. After the gathering she said her interlocutors had praised the way power was handed over after the October 25 election, and she told the incoming authorities not to walk away from preparations for the specialized Expo 2027 exhibition in Belgrade.

The National Assembly announced her trip to Dublin on November 11. Brnabic spoke on the panel “Building a Competitive Europe: Innovation, Connectivity and Affordable Energy,” and described the summit as a place where the whole continent gathers, not only members of the European Union.

What did Brnabic say about the handover of power?

After the summit, Brnabic said her interlocutors welcomed a peaceful transition, and as proof she pointed out that President Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat at 9:30 p.m. on election night. The constitutive session of the Assembly is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17.

“Everyone I spoke with here welcomed the absolutely gentlemanly, democratic, peaceful transition of power, that is, President Aleksandar Vucic’s admission already at 21:30 on October 25 that we lost the election and that we expect the quick formation of new institutions and that this will not be obstructed, which was shown by the fact that we did not file a single objection at any polling station, and also that the constitutive session of the Assembly is scheduled already for Tuesday, November 17,” Brnabic said.

She did not name the European leaders she spoke with. She added that she wants Serbia to remain a country where the rule of law is a certainty, and described the situation at home in these words:

“For the sake of Serbia and all of its citizens, I want institutions to be formed quickly and efficiently, after all, so that the uncertainty and insecurity that have now lasted for more than two weeks would end, and so that the anarchy and terror would stop, and so that we could truly have a country again in which the rule of law is a certainty and a guarantee for all citizens of Serbia.”

She called the European Political Community a “very good initiative” of French President Emmanuel Macron, because it brings together EU members, countries outside the bloc and those in the accession process.

An appeal to the Student List over Expo 2027

A separate part of her statement concerned the exhibition to be held in Belgrade in 2027. Brnabic said most of the countries she met with had announced their participation, and she addressed her appeal to the Student List, that is, the incoming authorities:

“The largest number of countries I had meetings with here said they are looking forward to taking part in the EXPO summit in Belgrade, in Serbia in 2027. My appeal to the new government is to take this with the utmost seriousness. This was never a party matter, this was never a matter of one person. Serbia fought for it, it competed against some of the strongest countries in the world, against the United States of America, Spain, Argentina, Thailand, they fought and won for the sake of Serbia.”

She also argued that the exhibition is a matter of the country’s credibility and economic benefit, and that a record number of participants has been confirmed, some of whom have already invested money in their pavilions. She asked that a team be formed to take over the project.

The same day, she criticized on X the Student List’s announcements about the defense industry and a drone factory with Israel. In the post she called it the “dismantling of Serbia as a sovereign, militarily neutral and strong country,” and attached a recording of an appearance by Filip Ubovic of the Student Movement, to which the post refers.

A message from Dublin on the continent’s security

The summit took place in the shadow of talks on ending the war in Ukraine. The host was Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, and European Council President Antonio Costa co-chaired. Participants included NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. In his opening address, Costa said Europe must have a voice at the negotiating table:

“The time of spheres of influence in Europe is long gone. Europe’s security cannot be discussed without a European voice at the negotiating table. That European voice must be the result of joint action by European states, the European Union and NATO.”

Costa added that the coming week would be a decisive test of Russia’s readiness to stop the war. The European Political Community is an informal forum founded in 2022, its first summit was held in Prague, and it takes no binding decisions. An informal meeting of EU leaders in Dublin follows on November 13.

How did Srecko Djukic assess her appearance?

Former diplomat Srecko Djukic told Danas ahead of Brnabic’s appearance that during a transitional period her representative should speak from neutral positions and not prejudge the policy of the future government, but that he deeply doubts this will happen.

“Oh, come on, would anyone believe that this will be the case? Would anyone believe that she won’t go to Vucic for positions? Nobody here is naive. We know how they behaved toward the ‘colored revolution’ before! Does anyone think it will be any different now? It is hard for anyone to doubt that she will now announce ‘Serbia under terror.’ But that is the nature of that party, which must disappear, and of a regime so wretched that it clutches at straws. None of it will help them, because it is clear to all of Europe that the reckoning with corruption and crime in Serbian society began even before a single institution of the new government was formed. Obviously, this will be the last swan song of Ana, Aleksandar and the departing regime at a major European forum,” Djukic concluded.

Danas also reports that before the summit, at the Paris Peace Forum, Brnabic briefly spoke with Macron, while Alo reports that the French president hosted a dinner for the heads of the forum’s delegations.

Kurti and the Hungarian prime minister

Kosovo also figured in the day of the summit through another meeting. According to a statement carried by Radio KIM, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar, for the first time in seven months after Magyar’s election victory and two months after Kurti’s own re-election. The statement we saw does not say where the meeting took place. Kurti noted that Hungary is among the countries with the largest number of troops in the KFOR mission.

“The more integrated and institutionally strong our Republic is, the more stable and prosperous the European future of the Western Balkans will be, and Budapest is one of the important centers on Kosovo’s Euro-Atlantic path,” Kurti said.

The first step after Dublin is known: the constitutive session of the Assembly is scheduled for November 17.