Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership, but under President Alexander Vučić's increasingly autocratic rule it has made little progress in the fields of rule of law and democratic reforms, which are the main preconditions for membership in the 27-nation bloc.
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00:00French President Emmanuel Macron has signed a deal with President Alexander Vucic to sell
00:07Serbia 12 Rafale fighter jets.
00:10The announcement was made during a news conference in Belgrade during Macron's visit to strengthen
00:15Serbia's ties with the European Union.
00:18Macron called the deal historic and important.
00:22The choice of Rafale fighter jets by Serbia is a clear choice in this respect,
00:26that of a long-term alliance between our two countries within a stronger and more sovereign Europe.
00:34And that this choice is part of our strategic autonomy and the strengthening of it.
00:40Serbia needs to upgrade its fleet and Vucic said the Rafale deal was huge news.
00:45The total value of the contract is 2.7 billion.
00:5312 completely new planes will be owned by the Republic of Serbia.
01:00Russia has been the traditional supplier of military aircraft to Serbia,
01:04which has refused to join international sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
01:09Macron warned that after the Russian invasion,
01:12Serbia's balancing game between world powers was an illusion.
01:16He said Serbia will only be able to protect its interests and preserve its identity as part of the EU.
01:43But selling Rafales to Russian ally Serbia,
01:51which has occasionally expressed an aggressive stance towards its Balkan neighbours,
01:55has raised some concerns.
01:57One of those is how France plans to prevent sophisticated Rafale technology from being shared with Russia.