EU’s Mogherini met by pro-Russian chants in Serbian assembly

BELGRADE, Serbia – The European Union’s foreign policy chief urged Serbia on Friday to keep on course toward membership in the 28-nation bloc far-right lawmakers interrupted her speech with pro-Russian chants.

Federica Mogherini’s 25-minute address to Serbia’s parliament was often overpowered as some ultranationalist lawmakers banged on benches with their hands and chanted “Serbia, Russia, we don’t need the Union!” Banners reading “Serbia doesn’t trust Brussels” dotted the room.

“My speech is long, so be ready,” Mogherini, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said at one point as the shouts persisted.

Mogherini told lawmakers that Serbia plays a key role in the Balkans and holds huge responsibility in maintaining regional peace.

She said that Serbia, the Western Balkans and the EU are closely joined and need each other. Their interconnection is particularly important at what she described as a “delicate” moment of insecurity and tensions in both the region and Europe as a whole.

“You have a great responsibility,” Mogherini said. “Serbia has always been on the crossroads of different worlds.”

Mogherini is on a tour of the Balkans that started in Montenegro and will end in Albania, trying to reassure the region that the EU remains open for enlargement despite crises in the 28-nation bloc.

Serbia, which is formally seeking EU membership, is deeply split between those seeking pro-Western integration and those wanting a close alliance with traditional Slavic partner Russia.

Vojislav Seselj, the leader of the far-right Serbian Radical Party, said the chants sent “a clear message that Serbia doesn’t want to enter the EU, but wants integration with Russia.”

With uncertainty surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies on the Balkans, Russia has been asserting its influence in the region that was engulfed in a bloody civil war in the 1990s.