Last week, I visited Brussels at the invitation of several Members of the European Parliament to attend the annual European Prayer Breakfast — an event that brings together representatives of various countries and political groups, symbolically celebrating what lies at the core of the European Union: unity in diversity.
The gathering, which attracts participants from across the continent, serves as a reminder that European identity does not imply the erasure of differences, but their respect and elevation through shared values. The EU is a union of sovereign states that preserve their distinct identities while upholding the fundamental principles of freedom, the rule of law, and solidarity.
These values are best illustrated through examples such as Poland. Its transformation from a post-socialist economy into a trillion-dollar economy — now ranked among the world’s twenty wealthiest nations — was made possible through EU membership. Poland effectively leveraged the benefits of the single market, EU funds, and the free movement of capital, all while preserving its cultural and national identity. Its trajectory demonstrates that European integration is not an act of self-denial, but a pathway for realizing national potential within a system that promotes stability, growth, and predictability.
For those who find Poland too distant an example, one need only look at our region. Croatia, with nearly 50% fewer inhabitants than Serbia, today operates a state budget 75% larger than Serbia’s, alongside stronger financial stability and greater investor confidence. This is not a matter of luck, but the result of timely strategic decisions — a clear commitment not just to the European path, but to EU membership as the final destination. The same applies to Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Slovenia — countries that seized the historical moment that Serbia ultimately missed.
Meanwhile, Serbia remains suspended between the illusion of neutrality and the reality of geography. For nearly twenty-five years, every Serbian government — since the democratic changes of 2000 — has formally declared a commitment to EU integration. In practice, however, this commitment has too often been reduced to rhetoric without resolution, promises without direction, and a perpetual “yes, but not yet.”
The cost of such indecision is becoming increasingly visible. The latest example is the imposition of sanctions on NIS — an issue that should be understood not merely as an economic or energy question, but as a geopolitical signal. The world is dividing clearly, lines have been drawn, and the space for balancing simply no longer exists. Neutrality, which perhaps seemed feasible a decade ago — despite already being strategically misguided — is today entirely unrealistic and effectively impossible.
As the global security and economic landscape undergoes rapid transformation, Serbia must determine where it belongs — and with whom it shares its future. The European Union has no alternative for Serbia — not because it is perfect, but because it is our only natural destination: historically, culturally, and ultimately, geographically.
The EU’s borders form our immediate neighborhood; its market is our primary economic space; and its values — freedom, knowledge, justice, and solidarity — are the values that should shape our own society.
Even countries that left the Union now openly acknowledge their mistake. The British Prime Minister recently stated that the United Kingdom has suffered significant economic damage as a result of Brexit, and that pro-European sentiment is once again dominant among its citizens.
Our dilemmas are no longer ideological, but civilizational — between integration and isolation, development and stagnation, the future or yet another postponed tomorrow.
Ultimately, geography is unforgiving. Only when we accept the course it has long drawn for us will we cease delaying the inevitable — and finally place ourselves on the right, and only sustainable, side of the future.
Milan Urošević
