Vučić arrived in Slovenia; "Bled Forum in the shadow of the Open Balkans" PHOTO

Vučić arrived in Slovenia; "Bled Forum in the shadow of the Open Balkans" PHOTO

He will be the only politician from the region to speak at a panel dedicated to the future of Europe, together with the leaders of the European Union.

However, before participating in the forum, he met with Edi Rama and Zoran Zaev, and he shared that on his Instagram profile.

"Bled Forum in the shadow of the Open Balkans! Welcome dear friends," Vucic wrote. After the panel, Vučić will have a tête-à-tête meeting in Bled with the EU special envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Priština, Miroslav Lajčák, and he will also meet with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. Also, the President of Serbia will have a separate meeting with his Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor.

Upon his arrival in Slovenia, Vučić announced on his Instagram account "Budućnost Srbije" that tonight he will host the Prime Minister of Macedonia Zoran Zaev and the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama at a dinner in the restaurant of the Honorary Consul of Serbia in Slovenia Tomaz Kavčić.

By the way, the main topic of this year's 16th Bled Strategic Forum (BSF), which will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, is the future of Europe and its resistance to challenges, and that is exactly what Vučić will discuss with EU leaders - European Parliament President David Sassoli, the Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš, Slovakia's Eduard Heger, Slovenia's Janez Janša, Greece's Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Hungary's Viktor Orban and Croatia's Andrej Plenković.

Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, EU Council President Charles Michel and European Commissioner for Demography and Democracy Dubravka Suica will also take part in the panel. President of Serbia stated on Saturday that he would have numerous talks at the Strategic Forum in Bled, and that, as the only politician from the region, he would participate in the panel in the European format.

Vučić announced that he would meet with the President of the EU Council, Charles Michel, as well as the hosts, and he also believes the EU envoy for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajčák.

"It is important to meet with the head of the EU Council. I believe that we will be able to talk about raising the level of harmonization with the EU from 46 to 62 percent. It will also be an opportunity to see how they look at the future of Serbia's EU accession," Vucic said.

The EU enlargement will also be discussed within the Forum, and the panel dedicated to that topic, which will be opened by Slovenian President Borut Pahor, will be attended by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, members of the BiH Presidency, Montenegrin Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Macedonia's Zoran Zaev, Poland's Mateusz Morawiecki, Pristina's Prime Minister Albin Kurti, as well as the new High Representative of the International Community in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt. The panel will also include European Council President Charles Michel, as well as Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi.

BSF Secretary General Peter Grk said that about 170 panelists from all over the world would discuss various aspects of Europe's future and that this was a priority. "A weak EU is not in anyone's interest. A weak EU means an unclear future, both in terms of our relations and the role that the EU will play in the future international architecture. The debate has reached a stage where we need to find a solution to continue living together as the EU or Europe", Grk said.

He explained that the four main topics at the conference will be the future of Europe, transatlantic relations, development and digitalization, the discussion on transatlantic relations will mark the events in Afghanistan, and talks on state development will be related to the fight against climate change. As the Grk says, the COVID-19 pandemic will be on the agenda, and this year's panels are focused on recovery from the pandemic.

Due to the current epidemiological situation, some participants will participate in the debates virtually, while most will attend in person.