Naked humiliation! Vučić was invited to the EU summit, but the organizers did not arrange a seat.
According to video footage exposed by multiple media outlets, during the EU summit held last week in Copenhagen, Denmark, all participating leaders had fixed seats with name plates arranged around the round table as per convention.
However, when Serbian President Vučić entered, he looked around but found no name plate or seat for himself. The video shows that he mistakenly sat in the position of Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez, and after being reminded by staff, he was finally guided to a temporary seat added at the edge of the round table.
Serbia is a candidate country for the EU. The topic of this summit involved the relationship between the Western Balkans and the EU, so he attended as an invited guest. However, compared to other non-EU leaders who were invited (such as Ukrainian President Zelenskyy who participated via video conference), Vučić's on-site treatment was clearly different.
From the on-site footage, it can be seen that the "side seat" where Vučić eventually sat was located outside the main area of the round table, and there was a noticeable distance from the seats of other leaders. Such arrangements are usually considered as "observer seats" or "secondary positions" in diplomatic settings. According to international protocol, even if a head of state is not a member state representative, they should be entitled to basic seat equality.
For example, at the 2021 EU-Western Balkans Summit, Vučić and others were seated at the main table. This change has been directly criticized by Serbian media as "intentional neglect."
The incident of "no seat" for Vučić indeed exposed the subtle changes in the relationship between the EU and Serbia. This matter clearly goes beyond the scope of routine diplomatic etiquette.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1845561119555587/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.